AHPC XV Submission #6 - Early WW2 French Motorcycle Troops

 

My sixth submission for AHPC XV is a group of reinforcements for the early war French Division Légère Mécanique that I painted last year. To add to the tanks and motorized troops, I have added a small platoon of a headquarters and two sections on motorcycles. The figures are a mix of metal minis from Crusader Miniatures and 3D prints using STL files purchased from MyMiniFactory for a total of 24 foot and 23 'mounted' figures. I really liked the Crusader motorcyclist, which will be a good match for the dragons porté I painted. The 3D prints also go well with the metal minis, but I have two minor criticisms regarding the files: (1) 'slung weapons' have no slings, and (2) most of the carbines have the bolts on the wrong side.

In the case of the dismounted motorcyclists, I cleaned up the figures and glued them onto 1" fender washers. I then added some fine sand to the base with PVA glue. In the case of the 3D figures, these were printed by a friend of mine who has done a number of projects for me in the past. He did most of the cleanup prior to delivery, but I went over them again to remove any missed supports and make a few repairs. These were glued to popsicle sticks with PVA glue to give me something to handle while priming and painting. I made bases for all of them using the plastic from old restaurant gift cards. I can get three bases from one card. I did all the ground work on these bases separately and glued the motorcycles on once all the painting was complete.

All the figures were primed with Vallejo USA Olive Drab Surface Primer using an airbrush. The bodies of the motorcycles were left that base colour. I then painted the rest primarily with Vallejo acrylics (unless indicated otherwise) as follows: faces and hands - Flat Flesh; uniform - Green Grey; boots - Chocolate Brown; belt, pistol holster, and ammo pouches - Leather Brown; leather pad on helmet, chin strap, gauntlets, and motorbike seat - Army Painter Leather Brown; canteen cover - English Uniform; gas mask bag - German Camo Beige; saddle bags - German Camo Orange Ochre; goggle frames, engine and muffler - Army Painter Plate Mail Metal; helmet - Olive Grey; goggles strap, scarf, and jacket buttons - Tan Earth; goggle lenses - Army Painter Runic Cobalt; rifle stocks - Beige Brown; motorcycle tires - Black; pistols and metal on weapons - German Grey; highlights on SMG and LMG - Gungrey. Once completed, everything got the ol' "Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade" treatment. When that was dry, the motorcycles were removed from the popsicle sticks and glued to their bases with Super Glue. Here are the final results.

French motorcycle platoon mounted and dismounted

View from the right

View from the left

No. 1 Section dismounted

 

Platoon Headquarters dismounted

No. 2 Section dismounted

No. 1 Section on their bikes

No. 2 Section on their bikes

No. 2 Section on their bikes (flip side)

My one attempt to hand-paint a licence plate

French motorcycle troops halted while the officer consults his map

The last figure for this post is an officer that came from the box of Wargames Atlantic French Infantry that I painted at the beginning of the challenge. Rather than paint him in Horizon Blue, I have done him in colours appropriate for May 1940. 

Thanks for stopping by.

AHPC Submission #15 - Sicaran Battle Tank for Sons of Horus

Space Marine "Sicaran" tank for the Horus Heresy - 28mm multi-part resin model from Forge World. 

AHPC submission #15 saw another return to painting 30k stuff - here w have a Sicaran tank from GW's Horus Heresy range. These days one can acquire this model in beautiful, multi-part plastic, but this is NOT that kit. It is, rather, an old veteran of Forge World's resin 30k range. It is painted in the colours of the XVI Legion Astartes, the Warmaster's own Sons of Horus.

Lovely lines AND lots of guns - perfect for Space Marines looking for that "sporting ride" in war time...

Space Marines have soooooo many tanks they can use to crush their enemies. There is a kind of spectrum in their designs, ranging from compact and brutal-looking, up toward medium-sized and brutal-looking, and on from their toward really-really-large and brutal-looking. Sure, some the speeders and jet bikes are sleek-looking things, but when it comes to tanks and troop carriers, the Space Marines want everything to look like it is coming to crush you - because, well, that is what is going to happen.

Auto cannons that are widely feared on Age of Darkness gaming tables.

But the Sicaran design stands somewhat apart...like the designers' brief said something along the lines of "killer Space Marine tank, but, you know, with a 'BMW' vibe...make it more of a sports-car-tank." And so, out with the troop compartment! Let's lower that silhouette a touch! And maybe not quite SO much slab-style armour? Guns, well, OBVIOUSLY, but, you know, a cool turret with rapid-firing auto cannons!

The Space Marines are not very "hip", but to the extent any hipsters survive the genetic conditioning process necessary to create Space Marines in the year 30,000 I'm sure they will all want to crew the Sicaran tank squadrons. These tanks race around the battlefield, they look cool doing it, and the weapons they bring to bear are effective against a wide assortment of targets, from protestors to xenos troublemakers to deluded "loyalist" Space Marines. While the standard turret mounting the auto cannons as seen here is the general favorite, there are all sorts of whacky alternate turret weapon mounts available too for hipster crews that wish to slay in a more unique, if still stylish, fashion.

Horus for hope!

As noted above this an old resin model from Forge World, and this is a re-paint, part of an ongoing campaign to bring a consistent look to the green armour for all of the Sons of Horus troops and vehicles in my collection. Such conformity stills my inner hobby OCD brain monkey...for a time, at least, until I must turn to the next batch of troops and vehicles who require a similar update.

Thanks for reading - stay tuned for more!

AHPC XV Submission #5 - Soviet Casualties, Star Wars Characters, and some Special Themed Minis

 This submission is a bit of a mixed bag consisting of wide variety of different miniatures. 

First up is a group of eight 28mm Soviet casualties in Summer uniforms by May '40 Miniatures that I picked up at Historicon last July. Having done a set of German casualties as pin markers last year for AHPC XIV, I thought I would expand my collection with additional markers for some of my other Bolt Action armies. Alas, I could only find the Soviet casualties among all the dealers there. 

The bases were cut from old dining gift cards, and a small box was made to accommodate a die at one end. I then built up the base with Spackle and pushed a figure into it while still wet. Once the Spackle was dry, the figures were then removed and the base covered with sand and painted with craft paints. The figures were primed black with a rattle can and then painted using Vallejo acrylics and Citadel washes before being glued back onto the bases. As a final touch, I added some grass flocking and a few tufts of vegetation. 

All eight pin markers

A close up of two of the poses

A close up of the other two poses

Next we have some Star Wars characters by West End Games that were done for some specials themes as part of Dante's Divine Comedy. The figures of miniatures of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker as he appeared in 'Return of the Jedi', and an Imperial officer have been languishing a box with other Star Wars minis, glued on 1 inch washers and with sand added to the base. They were primed black with a rattle can, and then painted with Vallejo acrylics and Citadel washes. Lots of black, dark grey, and grey, followed by Nuln Oil.

The last of the Star Wars figures is one of Obi Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. He was painted with Vallejo acrylics (Flat Flesh, Dark Sand, Chocolate Brown, Stone Grey, White) followed by Citadel Reikland Fleshshade on the face and hands, Army Painter Mid Brown Wash on the robes and cloak, and Army Painter Blue Tone on a white base for the light saber. 

The last two figures are ones associated with some special themes drawn from Dante's Divine Comedy, specifically those of Lust and Gluttony. I didn't have anything in my existing inventory to fit the bill of Lust, but was able to find an inexpensive stl file on MyMiniFactory of a Succubus with Chain Whip, that was also described as a Lust Demon. A friend printed the figure for 28mm scale, although it actually stands 32mm tall. The detail is very fine, and the wings and chain whip are quite fragile. I can't see this lasting very long on the tabletop before something gets broken. It was primed black with an airbrush, and then painted (very carefully) with Vallejo acrylics. I kept the palette simple with shades of red and black/dark grey. Here's the final result.

 

The next Circle of Hell was Gluttony. Again I didn't have anything in my stash of 'great unpainted', but was able to find another stl on MyMiniFactory of a fat lord on his throne stuffing his guts. This is a 40mm figure that comes in three pieces - the base, the throne, and the fat lord, which definitely made it easier to paint on the detail. The pieces were primed black with an airbrush and then painted with Vallejo acrylics with a few Citadel washes. Once completed, the separate parts were glued together. Here is our fat town lord with a drumstick on one hand and a goblet in the other, while a broken wine bottle lies at his feet.

 Thanks for stopping by.

AHPC Submission #14 - The Marksmen of Miragliano

Another Regiment of Renown marches forth - the Marksmen of Miragliano take aim!

AHPC submission #14 saw a return to my Dogs of War project. It's another Regiment of Renown - behold the Marksmen of Miragliano, the finest crossbowmen in all of Tilea! Beautiful 28mm metal castings from GW.

A couple of the Marksmen.

Under the leadership of the dashing Maximillian Damask, the Marksmen have a long tradition of service throughout the Old World, their deadly crossbow bolts bringing victory in countless battles! Only the most skilled crossbowmen can join this regiment. It is said the recruits must prove their ability by putting a bolt through the head of the prince on a gold ducat at 300 paces! 

Love the many, many little details on these beautiful sculpts...rabbit on one belt, a pheasant on the other...some fine stew around the campfire tonight lads!

Maximillian Damark and the regimental musician.

These figures are Perry sculpts, and are just so wonderful to work with. I love their character, and all of the little details that hearken back to the high-water market of GW's Fantasy figure sculpting. Things like daggers in boots, different packs with a variety of kit, all add character to the sculpts. Several of them are carrying animals they have hunted - rabbits, a pheasant - for stew around the campfire after the battle. And many of them wear the coin they had to shoot in order to prove their skill to join the regiment in the first place. 

D'oh! Broken standard in the box...

Best not to look too closely at that left hand...or either hand for that matter...

These are very, very old castings - and time is not always kind to old castings which have bumped around in a box for 20 years. Sadly the standard bearer had broken apart in the box, and in practically the word possible way. I attempted a repair, seeking to drill out the broken standard and replace it. But I am just dreadful at such hobby engineering, and made a total hash of the poor fellow's left hand. Best not to look too closely...I painted the poor chap regardless, and he has taken his place here in the regiment for now, but my hobby OCD is such that I have been scouring eBay for a replacement - it has been found, and will be painted after it arrives.

"We hit the right spot every time!"

In the WHFB game the Marksmen were a fine regiment to employ as their ability with the crossbows actually lives up to the hype, and a shower of bolts from this unit will hit a fair bit more compared to the average human archers in the Old World. They can also operate as skirmishers, causing even greater harassment for opponents, particularly ones already trying to figure out how to deal with the pikemen. 

It was a real treat to get a second Regiment of Renown painted up during AHPC XV. Stay tuned for more, and thanks for reading!

AHPC XV Submission #4 - Warriors of Númenor

 

My fourth submission for AHPC XV was a Númenorian army from the end of the Second Age of Middle Earth. It consists of 49 figures from the Games Workshop Lord of the Rings collection, specifically 12 warriors with bow, 12 warriors with spear and shield, 23 warriors with sword and shield, and 2 banners. The bow and spear figures are metal I bought in 3-figure blister packs, while all the rest are plastic figures from the Warriors of the Last Alliance boxed set. These are all 'eBay rescues' of which most were painted to varying degrees of proficiency. Since the boxed set only contains only 8 Númenorians, along with 16 High Elves, the 25 figures represent the remains of at least four separate boxes. Two were missing their shields, but I decided to convert these into banner bearers. 

The metal figures had their mold lines cleaned off and then were mounted on their bases. I added a layer of fine sand to the base with PVA glue. The plastic figures got a soak in isopropyl alcohol followed by a scrub with a stiff toothbrush to remove as much of the old paint as possible. The alcohol bath didn't seem to affect the ground work that had been glued on, but those figures with an excessive amount had some of it removed with an X-acto knife, especially around the feet and the bottoms of the cloaks. Three warriors had the position of their sword arm changed to distinguish them from the rest as I was going to used them as captains. The warriors missing shields had the recess where the shield attached carved away, and a pole added using florist wire.

Once everything was assembled, they were primed black with a rattle can. It would have been easier for painting if the shields had not been glued in place, but they were all solidly affixed in position, so areas where I couldn't get a brush in behind the shield were left black. All the figures were then painted using Vallejo acrylics. As these are fantasy figures I won't bore you with a paint list, but I used a lot of shades of grey to differentiate between the surcoat, shield, trim, and cloak. For those that I modified to be captains, I used either silver or gold to trim their shields and surcoats to make them more readily identifiable.

The Númenorian Host with Isildur and Elendil at their head

 

The First Company

The Second Company

Close up of the First Company

Númenorian Spearmen

Númenorian Bowmen

Númenorian Captains and Banners

Thanks for stopping by.

AHPC Submission #13 - Thousand Sons Automata and Apothecary

"No need to worry - they're with me..."

For submission #13 I was back to GW's "Horus Heresy" setting. There are three Castellax-Achea Automata and an Apothecary, all wearing the colours of the XV Legion Astartes, the Thousand Sons. These are all multi-part resin models from GW/Forge World. 

Castellax-Achea Automata

Achean-Force claws, Mauler-pattern Bolt Cannon...ready for all kinds of automated fun!

GW's Space Marines are so conditioned for battle in the name of The Emperor that they come across as if they are nearly soulless killing machines. Note that descriptor - "nearly". The individual Space Marines is still a human, in a sense. But don't worry. When all-the-way-soulless-killing is called for, the Space Marines send in the Automata.

Designed and built by the various Mechanicum Forge Worlds, Automata come in all manner of shapes and sizes. Automata attached to the various Space Marine Legions are employed by their commanders either to augment otherwise limited numbers of troops or for use in combat situations considered too extreme even for the fabled Space Marines themselves. 

View of the guts on the reverse side of the armoured plates...and a glowing little crystal to help with warp-energy control...I'm sure that won't cause any problems...

The Thousand Sons applied their own little twist to the whole Automata phenomenon. Their Primarch, Magnus the Red, pitched some Mechanicum types on Automata systems that made use of psychic energy. Usually the Mechanicum Forge Lord types reject any idea which they didn't devise themselves as heretical, but in this case Magnus found a particular - and apparently isolated - Forge World that heard him out and said "hey, sounds great, we'll work that up for up for you." Behold the Castellax-Achea pattern Automata.

"WHO WANTS A HUG?"

These are essentially killer robots, with the advantage that they can be guided by their controllers using psychic means rather than more standard communications protocols. What could possible go wrong? With Automata like these around, the Thousand Sons can spend a bit of extra time reading forbidden books while the robots handle some of the tedious fighting for them.

Apothecary

Apothecary in Mk VI power armour - with handy chain sword. Of course.

Not a whole lot to say about this fellow. The Apothecaries are Legion specialists charged with ensuring the physical health of their battle brothers. In practice, this seems to work out to about 20% healing/80% recovering critical bits from seriously wounded brethren for use in creating future replacement Space Marines. 

All the tools of the trade mounted on his left arm, with lamps and sensors on the power unit on the back.

I love the "beakie" Space Marines, and when GW released a new Horus Heresy Apothecary figure wearing the Mark VI "beakie" power armour I naturally over-supplied on the models. Since I was doing some Thousand Sons Automata, I thought I might as well get this fellow painted while I was at it. 

Safety fluids galore!

The Apothecaries are great fun to employ in 30k games, almost invariably driving your opponent bonkers by sparing Space Marines who otherwise would have been obliterated. You can deploy a little pack of them to roam among your detachments and I have found them to be fun and useful in all sorts of ways. This is a second Apothecary for my Thousand Sons - so now the medical experts can do consults.  

The armour details did not leave a lot of room for Legion symbols, but I managed to get to pseudo-heiroglyph symbols on the leg greave.

It was a treat to add these sinister machines - and not-that-much-more-comforting Apothecary to my Thousand Sons collection. They await their battle on the table...we all know how that goes...but stay tuned for more in the interim. Thanks for reading!