Challenge Accepted Clearing The Decks

You are probably already aware that the 7th Analogue Painting Challenge has already gone out and of course I have accepted the great opportunity that Curt has so kindly offered us. After all one cornerstone of blogging is to bring your work to a wider audience so the chance to be seen by so many more of my peers really is a great incentive to give it a shot.

Today has seen my prime hundreds of figures to join the hundreds already primed. The fact that all those primed today have been 6mm should not detract, well that's how I see it. The next batch should be 15mm

All part of this prep is also the finishing off of some of the figures I have waiting around for me just to do that last bit. I should finish off my Santa Clause before the weekend and that just leaves me a couple of command stands and a battalion of converged grenadiers for my SYW Prussians then the queue will be cleared. I will then probably paint up a few more figures as the clock clicks down to 20th December, the start of the challenge.

These limbers have been waiting finishing for twenty years! originally bought for my ECW army they will be seen with my SYW Prussians for the time being but when I finally get a game with my ECW they will be back home.

I can't remember who made them or even if the drover came with them. So a bit of a mystery but I bet someone remembers.

Another limber that will stay with the SYW unless I get told it is incorrect for period. Not only do I not know the make but am sure the limber and horse combination are likely not to have originally been together. The metal looks a little different and I seem to have plenty of these two horse models but this seems to be the only limber I have!

Still it can be used with the Prussian horse artillery I have yet to paint. That will be another of the challenge projects I must make sure happens. During the challenge a fair bit of French and Prussian SYW will be seen, possibly the biggest supplier of points for me in the challenge.

In a recent game against Matt I was short by at least one command stand so thought I should make up one as soon as possible. The centre figure is an old Chariot Miniatures figure painted many many years ago whilst the other two are Essex that a mate had not quite finished.

Again they have sat on my desk gathering in dust since before the last challenge. Whilst the middle figure has had only a slight touch up on the metal area's the two others have almost had a complete repaint as the paint was either missing in parts or been shined up from being rubbed.

I wanted to keep Martin's original look as much as possible though I did change the leather armour from blue to brown on the nearest figure in the pic above and turned the back and brest to a brass/bronze look.

I left the horses alone as much as possible though I gave a ink wash to them and tails and main needed a fair bit of help. The new stand will allow me to be more flexible in the next game. I also have another two or three command stands to paint that will again see light of day during the challenge.

It's a great feeling to have cleared up the half painted left for ages figures, just a shame it's taken so long given how quick it was to do once I sat down and got on with it.