AHPC IX Progress

With just under a month to go, I am looking at what is next for my AHPC participation:

• Points rate of effort are well in hand despite 3 aggregated weeks away from home and one week of no submissions (which I anticipated when setting my target).
• I should meet my target in the next week and with a solid push might even beat my current PB of 1228 points
• Submissions thus far have been predominantly based on my 15mm DAK Army and 28mm 'Romanised Orcs' project.
• I have only 2 points posted toward the Naval Side duel. Ironic really…
• With just one bonus round left to go am on track to hit all 5 again this year
• I have yet to do a Curtgeld figure, but it is in the project plan.
• I am enjoying AHPC as much as ever - I hope the other challengers are enjoying themselves also

On on!

AHPC9: Desert Oasis

The obligatory "sun shining off the water" shot :-)

Noting my DAK project of late, the topic of my Water Feature bonus round probably comes as no surprise: an oasis in the desert is key terrain regardless of what era one is playing.

SdKfz 222 was painted during AHPC 8 and is for scale only

While my immediate use is for 15mm North Afrika, I have endeavoured to keep this scale terrain feature scale agnostic.  It is also the first time I have used resin to attempt a water effect, so this Bonus round was useful in pushing my skills envelope!

I have used plastic palm trees, painted and drybrushed to reduce the overly artificial look they tend to have out of the packet. They do look better outside of direct sunlight though.

http://analogue-hobbies-theme-rounds.blogspot.com/2019/02/water-feature-from-paulog-desert-oasis.html

AHPC9: African Hunting Party

Having enjoyed an introductory game of Congo a few weeks past, I thought I would pay some attention to some long neglected figures in the lead pile to start my own White Explorer force.  This is my initial Hunting Party, comprising 2 Big Game Hunters, 3 Askari Guards, and 5 Bearers/Servants:

After a bunch of my submission have taken much longer to finish than anticipated, I challenged myself to do these rapidly and got them done over an aggregated 3 evenings. Unfortunately, they are a bit grainy up close - likely it was too hot when I applied the undercoat (its been a stinking hot summer here in Sydney). Still good enough for the Congo methinks!

Figures by the lesser known Askari mini: https://askari-minis.com/

Another 50 points towards my total Bwana!
https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/02/from-paulog-african-hunting-party-50.html

AHPC 9: DAK Panzers and Tank Killers

This week sees more DAK Panzers joining my Panzer IV Specials from earlier in the Challenge.
First up - a platoon of Pz IV F1s:

Panzer Marsch!

Their short barrels limited their effective range but the 75mm guns were capable of ripping the heart out of any Allied tank in the early desert war.  Mercifully for the 8th Army, they were always in short supply throughout and thus saw heavy and constant action.

As befits their operational usage, I have painted them up as well worn desert veterans. These models are PSC plastic kits.

As Battlegroup Torch takes the Desert War to Tunisia I can now field the Tiger tank, which was in operational use there from Dec 42.  The thick armour and brutal 88mm gun were a lethal combination which, while far from unbeatable, established the concept of "Tiger Fear" amongst Western Allied tank crews.

I'm really thrilled with how crisp I managed to get the Tiger's finish

As a newcomer to the theatre, I have done this Tiger as looking new and an unbattered example.  This model is from the recent Battlefront release in plastic.

My final offering this week is a Pak 38 5cm Anti Tank gun battery.  I have also modelled additional crewing options (allowing it to stay operational after taking some personnel casualties), and with both SdKfz 10 tow tractors for mobile operations, and dug-in 'nest' positions for flexibility.

The guns, crews and tows are by Forged in Battle. The PaK nests are resin by Battlefront.

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/02/from-paulog-dak-tank-killers-92-points.html