Challenge Entry #3

Here's the latest off my workbench for the Analogue Hobbies 3rd Annual Painting Challenge.

This time there's a PSC Soviet heavy mortar and crew and a Crusader Miniatures quad HMG AA stand, as well as a Schilling Napoleonic morale marker and 4 more Croat infantry to complete the 2nd battalion of my HaT Croat project.

I nearly forgot....

Happy New Year!

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry #2

I hope everyone out there has had a great Christmas, wherever you are!

In between family celebrations, this is what I've managed for my 2nd entry into Curt's Analogur Hobbies Painting Challenge; more of Jim's Soviets and the mandatory 28mm Samurai figure which is the competition entry price.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Original WWI Christmas card from Gallipoli

¡Feliz Navidad

Buon Natale!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Feliz Natal!

Bon Nadal!

Joyeux Noel!

Gelukkig Kerstfeest!

God Jul!

С Рождеством!

Wesołych Świąt!

Glædelig jul!
 Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

メリークリスマス !
Maligayang Pasko!
Boldog karácsonyt!

Thanks to my growing list of followers for your continued support throughout the year. It's great to feel my efforts are appreciated all around the world! 

2012 has been a very successful year blog-wise, with more milestones passed, participation in painting competitions, meeting a Kiwi fellow-blogger and a whole lot more figures painted.

2013 promises a lot more of the same, including the progress in the 3rd Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, the annual NWA Napoleonic Big-Bash game where I shall be in command of the French forces in a mystery 1813 game, and a whole lot more besides.

Merry Christmas & Happy 2013 to you all!

Launching Cold Steel v.8! (fanfare please......)

...thank you!

Ahem...Is this thing on?... (tap, tap)

I'm proud to share with you all our latest iteration of the Nunawding Wargames Association's Napoleonic wargaming rules, Cold Steel! Click the link below or under the header for the detailed rules and the charts for the play mechanics.

The rules are a labour of love for the club with these being the 8th version of the rules so far. This time, a small group of us (Tim, John R., Robin, Quinny and myself) got together to review the rules which I had been asked to transform into clearer English, on the strength of my writing skills as evidenced by this blog!

Once I'd completed the rewrite, which took a while due to something called real life getting in the way, it was off to Robin to let him work his magic on the formatting and presentation of the document. Every club should have a professional printer in their membership, I say! I think you'll all agree that he's done a bang-up job with the lay-out and the little explanatory diagrams!

The link below is to read-only pdf files in my Google Drive library, so if you feel like printing them off and giving our rules a go, feel more than free! I don't claim that these are the be-all-and-end-all of Napoleonic rules, but for us they are a happy medium between detail and playability. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're interested, give them a go and we'd be thrilled to get some feed-back, positive or negative (but preferably positive!).


Cold Steel Rules & Charts

Challenge Entry #1 - Schilling French

Here's the first completed unit for Curt's 3rd Analogue Hobbies Annual Painting Challenge worth the princely sum of 36 points!

It's forecast to be 30º centigrade today and 39º tomorrow; not the ideal painting weather I think you'll agree! My next entry will probably have to wait til after the weather cools down, which isn't expected to be until Christmas Eve. I'm glad I got this unit done before the madness of Christmas celebrations takes over because, even though we're not going anywhere, I'll be too busy with family celebrations til after Boxing Day, so I don't expect to be back at the painting table til later next week at the earliest!

Theeeeeeey're Racing!

An advantage to being closest to the International Date Line is that us antipodeans get a head start in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge! Now, I think that's the only advantage I'll have as I don't anticipate that I'll set a lightning pace.

I'm starting with a 9 figure battalion of Schilling Miniaturen French infantry and then will get stuck into the Plastic Soldier Company Soviets I've got left over; some more artillery bases, light & heavy machine guns, infantry and command. Then it'll be back to Napoleonics with more Croatian infantry, Joseph Bonaparte regiment Spanish, lots more French infantry and Italian artillery.

Block colours on all the figures

1st figure with all the details finished;
Front...

...& back of voltiguer.

Pour la Gloire de l'Empereur!

Here's poor Henri, laying down his life for his emperor! 

He'll be used as a morale marker for the battalions using the metal Schilling figures. I've got a couple of others that will make an appearance in the upcoming Challenge, too!

The Quick and the Dead

This chap wasn't quick enough!

Schilling Bardin French Infantry Figures

I've started priming the metal figures in preparation for the beginning of the 3rd Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I'm really looking forward to painting these figures; the detail is a lot crisper than I'm used to with painting plastics.

The sculpting is a little cartoonish, with the heads seeming a little larger than anatomically true, especially when compared to their hands and feet. However, the muskets and bayonets are truly to scale and I've already pricked myself several times on the wicked needle points of the bayonets!

Line infantry fusilier

Wounded figure
 (to be used as morale marker. As he's not going to be integral to any battalion, I've already started painting him and he won't count towards any points in the comp. )

Elite company figure

Choices, Choices...What to Paint Next?

I have picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Curt over at Analogue Hobbies and entered his 3rd Annual Painting Challenge! In an innovation on past challenges, Curt's asked all competitors to estimate how many points they expect to accomplish as a goal to reach or exceed, so that everyone has a goal, rather than just all the kudos going to the highest achiever (not looking at anyone, Ray!). There have already been a few ambitious targets set by other participants!

As this is my first entry in the challenge and the fact that painting in the antipodean summer can be challenging, to say the least, I have nominated the modest total of 660 points. I aim to knock off the Soviets Jim gave me to paint around this time last year(!), the majority of infantry and artillery I'll need for the Borodino project (and possibly the cavalry, too, though the Bavarian Chevaux Leger are still proving difficult to source. I think I may have found a solution, but it'll probably have to wait til after the challenge is finished). Also, I intend to kickstart my Late Antiquity project with a few more stand of Roman and Germanic infantry, cavalry and command stands, if time permits.

Jim's Soviet's will be a priority!

There'll be plenty of these for Borodino...

...and another battalion of these painted as Velites of the Guard... 

...and more of these for Legere and Conscripts of the Guard.

The metal Schilling Figuren French infantry in Bardin uniforms will get a look-in, too, now that If got the elite figures as well.
(image from Schilling Figuren website)

These will be painted up as the Italian Rgt. Regina...

...and some of these will appear as Italian artillery.

If I can squeeze them in, I'll also crack on with my Late Antiquity project (and be able to update my other blog, too!). All these will feature if I can find time in between my Soviet and Napoleonic priorities.

Roman foot command
(image from Newline Designs website)

Roman infantry
(image from Newline Designs website)

And what are these? One of these will be  the entry price for  participation....But which one?
Stay tuned....
(image from Eureka website)