What was I thinking?

Well the Fourth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is off to a flying start.  My goal is to paint 2,000 points of bare metal, plastic and resin.  You'll see most of it below.  I decided to prime the miniatures in batches.  It doesn't take long, and the really time consuming part of the preparation - cleaning and mounting on bases - is almost complete.

The terrain in the background is not really part of the challenge, just some stuff waiting to be done for a Late First World War scenario.  In the foreground you'll find Early WW1 Germans, WW2 US paratroops, Waffen SS, some 15mm WW2 US infantry, WW2 British paras, WW1 German cavalry, Fallschirmjager, and Early WW1 British infantry, and a couple of Mark IV tanks.  My output so far?  One non-combatant padre for the Great War.  You have to start somewhere.

To the Brushes!

Despite my unrealized best intentions and dismal personal performance in last year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, supremo Curt kindly invited me to return to the fray for another winter painting frenzy.  This time it will be different!  Well, we'll see.  Its actually a fantastic idea - not so much about competing with fellow painting gamers without borders - but rather attempting to set a goal for yourself and in the process enjoying the creativity and camaraderie of others who are also excavating their respective metal mountains.

Speaking of which, last night I sat down and took a cold hard look at what I wanted to work on for the next few months.  It was somewhat sobering for reasons I will explain below.

Firstly, I won't have to buy a single figure to participate this year.  The image below represents approximately 2,000 points in the painting challenge system.  Some of these I've had lying around for a while.

So what will I be painting?  Probably close to eight years ago I painted up a ton of 15mm Fallschirmjaeger and German armour for Flames of War.  I also did some really great Bocage terrain.  I'll have to post some pics later.  I've never really gotten a chance to put them on the table.  With my sons reaching an age where we can at least attempt to game, I wanted to paint up some adversaries for the Krauts.  So here you'll see some 15mm Battlefront Americans with five Shermans from Plastic Soldier.  The boys love tanks, so let's see if we can't get them on the table in time for a Spring offensive.

Next, some 28mm World War II figures from Warlord Games' Bolt Action series.  Early this year I'd intended to paint them up for the new Bolt Action rules.  Here's the chance to get them on the table: Fallschirmjaeger, SS, Screaming Eagles and Red Devils.  Did I mention my boys love armour?  Also in the pile are some nicely sculpted figures and vehicles from West Wind Productions "Berlin or Bust" series.  These mix well with Bolt Action.

I continue my fascination with the Great War.  The impending centenary of the beginning of the First World War will, I'm certain, be commemorated by many gamers around the globe.  I wanted to paint up some early War figures - British and German.  Included in the pile are German cavalry from Wargames Foundry as well as German and British infantry and artillery from both Great War Miniatures and Battle Honors Miniatures.  

I bought a couple of 25mm Old Glory Mark IV tanks a while back too.  In a previous blog, I noted just how large they are in comparison to the Foundry version.  I toyed with the idea of returning them to the vendor, but now its too late.  So I'll paint them for the campaigns in the Middle East, and more precisely the Second Battle of Gaza.  When did I start doing the Great War in Palestine you ask?  Well, right about now.  This means of course I'll have to buy some more figures: Ottoman Turks, Australian Light Horse, German Asia Corps, British infantry in tropical kit, Indian cavalry.  It just so happens I have a few figs lying around, but not nearly enough of course.    And Brigade Games have some great sculpts.  Such is the nature of addiction.

Finally a few odds and ends: Great War German casualties, a padre (hoping that Curt will allow him as a non-combatant), and somewhere tucked away I'm pretty sure I have some unpainted miniatures I was going to do for Legends of the Old West.

The biggest lesson I learned from last year's challenge was not to wait unit the first day of action to start preparing and priming the miniatures.  This always takes way longer than I anticipate.  So from now until December 15, the sound of filing, snipping, and spraying will ring out from my workshop.

Perhaps the most sobering part of all this is to total up the value of the unpainted miniatures piled on the table above.  In many cases I didn't pay full price.  I've traded them, bought them as part of an Army Deal, or purchased them at discount.  But even taking that into account, they represent quite an investment.  The sensible thing is to get them on the tabletop where they belong.

German Support Weapons and Specialists

Rounding out my collection of Late War Germans, I've converted and painted a few specialist miniatures.  These, as I alluded to in my last post, should have been completed for the Analogous Hobbies painting challenge.  They never quite made it to the front line unfortunately, and their completion is almost twelve months behind schedule.  Where does the time go?

Firstly, some nicely sculpted snipers from Great War Miniatures.  I mounted the prone figures on large round bases.  Leaving off the bases would have increase their versatility on the tabletop, but I liked the more "finished" look.  The addition of a nicely detailed base is a little like putting a picture in a matted frame.  It just looks better.

Next a couple of trench mortars.  These are a mix of figures from Old Glory and Brigade Games.  The Old Glory figures are shown serving the mortar.  I took a second wheeled mortar from Old Glory and combined it with a team from Brigade Games that was initially designed to drag a Maxim.  I filed down the rings on the ends of the straps that were sculpted on the figures, and then attached strips of thin plasticard.  I quite like the effect, although I'm not sure how they will "game" on the table.

I did further conversions on a group of Old Glory figures designed to be part of a mortar team.  These are shown here hauling forward a Brigade Games Maxim on each corner of its forward legs and sled.  One of the Brigade Games' officers is wearing a rare helmet cover

The stationary Maxim below comes with its original Brigade Games crew.  .

The granatenwerfer team are from the same specialist Great War Miniatures pack.