AHPC VII Reflections - Part 1: Facts and Figures

While not a mathemagician anywhere of the calibre as the redoubtable Mr Miles, I have found myself tainted by his interest in some of the stats around AHPC.

So here are some completely self indulgent figures and graphics that will mean little to anyone else, but I wanted to capture them for myself :-)


Total Points: 1,228
I finished in the top 25% of the list (overall 22th place of the 96 participants) and I feel very chuffed to be in such august company at the upper end of the ladder (but still far below the productivity of some very impressive painters)



Figures: all 28mm scale

• Figures: 139 (wow- that many? Well, its a lot for me!)
• Cavalry: 7
• Vehicles: 8 (4 AFVs, 2 jeeps and 2 canoes!)
• Guns: 1

Totals by Genre (including bonus rounds)

• French Indian War: 457 Points (Terrain bonus round)
• Fantasy: 300
• WW2 British Paras: 172 (Movie/book/song bonus round)
• Weird WW2: 130 (Armour and West bonus rounds)
• Misc: 141 (East bonus round)

My average points per week - interesting to see the impact of not starting until after the Christmas/New Year's visitors had departed, and a long weekend away at CANCON.  After that I settled down to a rather consistent average of just under 100 points/week.

Which was made up of a more fluctuating series of submissions each week:

Comparison between challenges:

And to complete the graphical homage to Miles and his amazing spreadsheet...

Next Up - round up pics and the submissions assembled!

Painting Challenge VII - final submission

Times up - brushes down! AHPC VII has come to its inevitable conclusion

Major Brinkworth leads from the front with his Impressive Weapon!

To complete my AHPC VII submissions and add to last week's submission of Major Brinkworth and his redcoats, I present another 12 musketeers, a colour party and two sergeants.  I've continued with the green facings of the 24th Regiment and the relatively clear bases to reflect their role as Regular infantry in more open ground.

Unfortunately, the additional few figs I need to complete a full third unit under Sharp Practice 2 and the flags I bought for the colour party haven't yet arrived yet and are still a week or two away so will miss the challenge.

Sergeants Garside and Hanson reassure the lads in action and administer a good slap to those who need it maintain their resolve.  Plus those halberds tend to give any adversary pause for thought!

My more usual view of the lads as they go into action.

I'm really pleased with how the coats came out, emphasising their "bloody back" nickname

Here are all the lads together (combined with last week's submission), ready to take on Dux's French this week - I trust their performance will justify the effort required to paint all that b%@$dy lace!  It really finishes off the figures though, and the unit as a whole.

Firing Line: What British regulars do best, right Dux?

"These smell tasty Daddy..."

Finally, here are 7 war hounds from the Gripping Beast Irish Warband boxed set but intended more immediately for my Fantasy army as lesser war beasts.  These were dropped into the paint queue at the last minute to get me past 1200 points (after my flags and extra redcoats didn't arrive in time).

Odin poses with his little lead cousins...

"These smell even tastier..."

...and thats why one of the war hound models looks a little more veteran than the other.
Inevitable really!

Thats 16 Redcoats, 7 warhounds and a small supply base (not worth points, but I needed another deployment point) to complete my AHPC VII adventures. My initial target was 850 so to get to 1200ish for a personal best result is very satisfying indeed!

You can see this submission at the AHPC blog here: From PaulO'G: Last Submission - More 28mm Redcoats...

Thanks to everyone (especially Curt and my Tuesday co-minion Dux) for all the fun, comments and chats - I'm already looking forward to Season 8!

Painting Challenge Week 12 submissions

Present - Fire!

The FIW Campaign "Frontier Aflame" that Dux and I are prosecuting against one another is intensifying, and so is my need for reinforcements!  Here is the first detachment to arrive on the scene: a unit of British Regular Infantry - classic Redcoats.

Light last week's Light Infantry, these chaps have the light green facings of the 24th Regiment of Foot (mirroring my 15mm Zulu War army).  Unlike my Rangers and Indians where I piled terrain on their bases to reflect them being deep 'in the woods', I've left these guys with a minimum of detritus to reflect them being more in more open terrain as regular troops.

Remarkably, they survived the first battle this week with only two losses.  But only by the skin of their teeth as they made a tactical withdrawal under a hail of tomahawks with a screen of skirmishers protecting them.

My first time painting Redcoats - so much lace and detail...

To go with them, I made a pile of supplies to use as their deployment point, just as I use the portaged canoe as the deployment point marker for my stout Indian allies

Commanding them is the dapper Major George Brinkworth.  A former Gentleman ranker, under the Sharp Practice 2 random character generation process, it was revealed that he has the "Impressive Weapon!" skill - something that I remind Dux of with unfailingly humorous regularity!

Ooohhh thats a big one isn't it Dux! Much more Impressive than yours... 

Major Brinkworth is supported by a drummer who helps relay his orders in the heat of battle (this provides a control bonus in Sharp Practice 2).  I really went to town with the lacing on this fellow and it darn near drove me mad. He looks good though so it was worth the extra effort.

All figures are 28mm by Warlord Games. Pile of supplies from my bits box
This entry is at the AHPC blog here: From Paul O'G: FIW Redcoats (51 Points)

So I've cracked 1100 points with just over a week to go!

Note to self - colours used are:
Base coat - GW Blood Red
Wash - Army Painter Red Tone Ink
Highlight - GW Evil Sunz Scarlet
Facings - GW Goblin Green with Thrakka Green wash

AHPC VII 'Character/Scene' Bonus Round: 'Helped by a cup of tea'

I had planned and even completed a different character earlier in the challenge with this bonus round in mind.  Then I finally got hold of this figure so that I could  pay homage to one of my favourite ever movie scenes, from the classic 1977 flick "A Bridge Too Far."

Scene: In the aftermath of the disastrous initial landings at Arnhem, Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander of the British Airborne Division (played by Sean Connery) considers how things are going:

General Urquhart: Hancock - I've got lunatics laughing at me from the woods. My original plan has been scuppered now that the jeeps haven't arrived. My communications are completely broken down. Do you really believe any of that can be helped by a cup of tea?

Cpl Hancock: Couldn't hurt, sir. [Urquhart accepts his mug of tea]

I try to emulate him when things go pear shaped at work...

So here he is, flanked by a pair of sten toting paras that had eluded my earlier attentions (the jeep was submitted earlier in the challenge so is here to copy the movie set only). 

Tea drinking Para figure by Northstar and is a welcome addition to my Brit Para force, either as a senior commander or an objective marker.

This AHPC entry is located here: 'Characters/Scene from' PaulOg: 'Helped by a cup o...

And the points for this entry gets me past my 1000 point objective - Huzzah!  Time to up it to 1150 to inspire me for the last fortnight.

Painting Challenge Week 11 submissions

First up is a six man unit of British Light Infantry (who were blooded on the table this week and naturally suffered heavy losses at the hands of Dux's Canadiene Milita):

These 'light bobs' are rather handy in the wilderness; good shots and able to screen the regular troops in more traditional formations, they became critical to the war effort (yet somehow those lessons were lost during the subsequent rebellion of the American colonies...)

I've painted these chaps as members of the 24th Regiment, a Regiment that would later become famous in the Zulu War for both unlikely victory at Rorke's Drift and disastrous losses at Isandlwana.  I've modelled the Regiment for that war in 15mm previously and thought it would be neat to game with the same regiment in another time period and scale.  I've used a dark, dirty wash to reflect their irregular nature and lack of spit and polish compared to line infantry.

And a second native american canoe, the crew of which look suspiciously like the chaps I posted last week portaging a canoe through the forest.  They look far more rested in this pose! I also did up two piles of trade goods, which will be good loot to capture on the table.

And what was to be my Bonus round Character but who got replaced at the last minute. Presenting evil mastermind and super-villain Johan Schmidt, aka Red Skull, nemesis of Captain America and founder of Hydra.

“His Skull maybe Red but his heart is Black”

I bought this mini some years ago – it is the “Herr Totenkopf” figure by WhatThe! Miniatures.  I love that this sculpt mirrors a classic cartoon image, complete with the Mauser C96 pistol (because anyone can have a Luger, right?).  As a result, I have been faithful to the colour scheme of this pic. 

All that black was a bit of a sod to get right but I'm really happy with the end result.

The skull isn't so washed out IRL, but I got the blue eyeballs done!

Interestingly, Red Skull first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (dated 1941) and is, apparently, rated No 21 in the Top 100 Greatest Villains Ever list by the people who consider such things far more deeply than I – or so Wikipedia tells me anyway.

This AHPC entry can be found at: From PaulOG: FIW British Light Infantry, a Canoe and Red Skull! (60 points)

Together these three submissions total 60 points, leaving me a bare 3 points shy of my increased 1000 point objective.  2 weeks and one bonus round to go...

Almost there...

Close but no cigar!

Painting Challenge Week 10 Submissions

A couple of entries this week, and first up is a native Canoe being portaged - I will be using this as a movable deployment marker in Sharp Practice 2, but have left the canoe separate so I can instead add a ladder or other ancillary equipment instead if required.

9 villagers of various ages - some lovely poses from aged woman and girl holding hands, Woman milling corn, swaddled infants and those quietly smoking pipes.  They will inhabit the longhouse and village that I have planned (for after AHPC finishes).

Figures sponsored by Marlboro!  

This AHPC entry is here: From Paul OG: Indian Canoe and Villagers (60 Points)

And now my most important figure of the challenge; the Curtgeld.

This 28mm Landsknecht is busy redistributing goods from undeserving locals to obviously far more deserving liberators.  This is one half of a two man chest lifting team, and Reilly is painting the other guy to complete this small family submission to the larger team Oz effort.

My first Landsknecht and while it as fun to break out all the colours, I'm glad I'm not doing a whole amy of them! He is sporting a dapper ginger beard as a permanent reminder of who painted him :-)

You'll see some more Landsknechts at the AHPC blog in the coming weeks as the team contribution comes together and is communally based.  This entry is here: 
From Paul O'G: Looting Landsknecht Curtgeld (27 Points)

These contributions push me past my initial target of 850 points-  I am on track to crack 1000 for a new personal best. Only 3 weeks to go!