TFL Painting Challenge 2020: Andrew Helliwell

Some ACW cavalry: 12 Union (make unknown, bought for £2, unpainted and unloved from a bring and buy last Summer!)

4 rebased artillery guns with 12 crew

24 Union infantry

Some ACW cavalry: 14 Confederate (Peter Pig).

A German turret bunker (I know it's the wrong turret but I lost the one supplied so this Soviet BA-10 armoured car turret will have to do until I get round to replacing it!) and a supply dump. Both resin Baueda models.

A ruined factory, an MDF Warbases model with added details. Figures to show scale. Added details with extra floor and sandbags for the poor sniper!

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6 X 28mm Norman cavalry from a Conquest Miniatures box bought for a song from a local antiques/flea market!

A 32 strong 15mm US WW2 infantry platoon for Flames of War. Purchased unpainted and unloved in an old plastic bag on a bring and buy stall!

Back to the Seven Years War: 24 Reichsarmee infantry. Freikorps 15mm.

Seven Years War: 18 Austrian dragoons. Freikorps 15mm.

12 Late medieval/early Renaissance Knights (Essex 15mm)

12 mounted arquebusiers for the Thirty Years War (Essex 15mm again).

A small rebased army. Some 16th century figures now re-purposed for Pikeman's Lament. 12 cavalry and 42 foot ( the cannon hasn't been rebased so isn't part of the challenge!). Mainly 15mm Essex figures.

24 Continental infantry for the AWI, Peter Pig 15mm figures.

34 x 15mm medievals, bowmen, foot knights and infantry with spears etc.

Three more fantasy types in 28mm.

Another rebasing effort, 48 Tudor infantry and 4 border horse, all set to fight the Spanish. Ironically sold to a customer in Barcelona! All 15mm, mainly Essex Miniatures.

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15mm landsknechts. Sixteen shooty types, 16 pike and 4 halberdiers. All Freikorps figures.

I found the next batch of figures in the loft during a recent clear-out, 24 1/72 medievals by Strelets, mounted on Warbases movement trays.

A hill from a spare MDF base. 15mm ACW figures to show size.

Scratch built 15mm hill (Kubelwagens for scale)

Scratch built 15mm hill (Kubelwagens for scale)

Scratch built 15mm hill (Kubelwagens for scale)

28 x 15mm ACW Union infantry.

Peter Pig figures.

The start of my new ECW army, inspired by a visit to this year's Battle of Nantwich re-enactment and Helion's newly published book about Parliament's Cheshire Army. Two 15mm foot units (Mainwarings and Brereton's foot) both 19 figures strong, both by Peter Pig.

12 x 1/72 scale medieval foot soldiers. Strelets figures, sabot bases by Warbases.

ECW Artillery

Dragoons. Twelve each of foot and mounted and a couple of horse holders.

More infantry. Nineteen figures in all.

Cavalry and general. Thirty six cavalry, one general, a standard bearer, ranting preacher and a casualty.

Some 28mm WW2 stuff. These are from the free sprues in Wargames Illustrated and are just to try out painting larger figures in contrast paints. Six Germans.

Some 28mm WW2 stuff. These are from the free sprues in Wargames Illustrated and are just to try out painting larger figures in contrast paints. Six American infantry.

Secondly the final regiment (for now..) of my ECW army. Another 19 infantry, 15mm Peter Pig as usual.

15mm Wars of the Roses/late medieval stuff to replace older figures painted nearly 30 years ago! Twelve mounted knights (Donnington New Era).

15mm Wars of the Roses/late medieval stuff to replace older figures painted nearly 30 years ago! 24 billmen (Peter Pig).

15mm Wars of the Roses/late medieval stuff to replace older figures painted nearly 30 years ago! Some baggage elements: 2 pack mules with two drivers, a dead cart with praying monks and cart driver (Peter Pig and Essex Miniatures) and a camp scene with assorted barrels, crates and sacks and 7 camp followers.

Some rebased 15mm stuff, 28 Tudor infantry.

Some rebased 15mm stuff: ten medieval crossbowmen.

A ruin in 15mm

A shed load of longbows. Thirty six rebased and retouched and newly inkwashed chaps (at front of photo) and 32 newly painted Pete Pig figures, at the rear of the shot.

15mm Wars of the Roses figures, mainly Peter Pig.

Firstly 12 light(ish) cavalry. Hobilars/currours etc

Next 48 billmen/dismounted men at arms.

36 X 15mm Welsh medieval spearmen, figures by Donnington New Era with some Irregular Miniatures interlopers (I ran out of figures to finish the unit!)

Next more bows and bills, all 15mm Peter Pig. In total 20 bowmen and 28 bills/men at arms.

A 15mm medieval baggage cart with load, two oxen and a peasant driver. (All Donnington New Era figures.) Also a small scratch built ploughed field. Foam core, corrugated card and filler, PVA, sand, flock and paint.

Seven half timbered buildings by Battlescale. They're marketed as 10mm but as the picture shows they fit perfectly well with my 15mm figures.

Two 24 figure Austrian battalions. One of fusiliers, one of grenadiers. To accompany them are 18 X hussars. All 15mm Freikorps figs.

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A hill for use with 15 mm - 1/72 figures. The hill is made from a spare lump of blue foam, MDF , sculptamold, sand, paint , flock etc.

A whole load of 15mm Seven Years War Austrians/Reichsarmee:

One battalion of Reichsarmee grenadiers (24 figs)

One Austrian fusilier battalion (24 figs)

Two Reichsarmee battalion guns (4 gunners, two cannon)

One grenzer battalion (18 figures)

One Commander in Chief stand (1 Mtd general, one Mtd standard bearer and a mtd kettle drummer)

Four brigadier general stands ( 6 mounted figures, two foot ADC's)

One foot Artillery battery (2 cannons, 8 gunners, 2 limbers, 2 drivers and 4 horses)

All figures by Freikorps apart from the two foot ADC's who came from the spares box! (Of unknown provenance!)

A brief return to The Wars of the Roses. 12 X longbowmen and 6 prisoners and guard. Prisoners and man in stocks are Donnington, guard is Peter Pig.

6 X 28mm WW2 Germans in greatcoats, courtesy of Warlord Games (they came as free gift with this month's Wargames Illustrated!)

18 more Seven Years War Austrian cavalry in 15mm from Freikorps figures

15mm Roman Cavalry (Essex)

12 X 15mm Wars of the Roses longbows (Donnington new era figures). Painted simply to fill an annoying gap in my display cabinet!

Next, now that the Wars of the Roses armies are rebuilt, attention turns to my Feudal English and French figures. This has involved a big rebasing and upgrading effort on my medieval knights. All rebased on MDF, rather than badly cut cardboard, paint work retouched, dodgy flags removed and an ink wash and a revarnish. In total 48 15mm medieval knights (all Essex Miniatures).

My Feudal revamp continues..all in 15mm as usual.

Firstly a unit of 12 mounted crossbowmen (Essex Miniatures) and an armoured bishop with bodyguards (Donnington New era bishop, Essex knights).

Next a couple of later medieval mounted crossbowmen. (They're going to join with 6 already painted comrades to find a new home on eBay!)

Now onto the foot, 20 rebased peasants (maker unknown), 12 Essex Miniatures longbows and 33 crossbowmen (Essex Miniatures and Lancashire figs) and 4 spearmen (Essex Miniatures).

In total 17 X 15mm mounted figures and 69 X 15mm foot figures.

15 armed and angry 15mm peasants.

More missile troops: in this case, 18 crossbowmen

33 longbows and 12 skirmishing longbows.

12 knights and sergeants

24 mounted knights and sergeants. Essex Miniatures 15mm figures.

Twelve longbows and six crossbows. Essex Miniatures 15mm.

32 blokes with big shields and long spears. Essex 15mm

Command base in 15mm. Figures by Minifigs (standard bearer) Irregular (foot knight) and Donnington (mounted blokes).

Note that I've not had the courage yet to attempt heraldry on the shields!

Three bases of armed monks. Figures by Mirliton, Essex and Donnington. Fifteen 15mm foot figures in total.

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Lots of feudal spearmen. I seem to have done rather a lot! Seventy two 15mm figures foot in total. Figures by Essex and Donnington.

Some more generals to take charge of my growing military might! Figures by Essex, Minifigs and Donnington. Four mounted and six foot, all 15mm.

12 mounted hobilars. Donnington figures. 15mm.

A general and escort. Two mounted, one foot figure. Donnington mounted, Essex foot.

Lots of missile troops. Thirty six bowmen, six longbows and six crossbows. Donnington and Essex figures.

Twelve Wars of the Roses billmen/men at arms. Donnington again.

24 X 15mm American War of Independence Continental infantry. These have been painted for no other reason than I'm fed up of medieval stuff for the past few months!

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All in 15mm, all by Peter Pig: a battalion of 24 AWI British line infantry.

Seven AWI militia.

Peter Pig 15mm

Two French converged elite units.

18 light infantry (rear) and 20 grenadiers (front)

Peter Pig 15mm

Two 20 strong battalions of French colonial infantry.

Peter Pig 15mm

28 x 15mm American Civil War infantry which I found in the back of a drawer!

24 x 15mm American War of Independence militia, with no flag so they can turn out as patriots or rebels (with an appropriate flag) depending on the scenario.

16 pikemen and 40 men at arms /billmen for The Wars of the Roses. Peter Pig 15mm.

15mm ECW Bluecoat Regiment

ECW Shot Regiment in 15mm.

Rebasing exercise. Two shot regiments, both 18 strong. All Peter Pig figures.

Some 15mm Scottish medieval spearmen. This will hopefully be the start of my Scottish contingent fight with my Wars of the Roses armies. 24 figures, again by Freikorps figures.

Two ECW conventional pike/shot regiments, these two are both 25 strong and made from 38 existing figures and 12 newly painted ones. All Peter Pig figures.

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Some 15mm cavalry. Two Seven Years War dragoon regiments. One Prussian (at rear) and one Austrian (middle unit). Both are 18 figures strong. Lazun's French hussars from the AWI at the front,12 figures. All by Freikorps figures.

AWI 15mm Continental infantry. 24 figs. Peter Pig.

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Two Prussian battalions. Both Freikorps figs. Both 24 strong. A Garrison battalion and a Fusilier battalion.

15mm Prussian howitzer battery. Freikorps figures.

24 Feudal Scottish foot, by Freikorps figures.

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15mm real estate. A well house, a half timbered house, a chapel and a barn. (All by Battlescale) and an Italian style house from a paper kit. Resized from 25mm, windows and doors were cut out and recessed and the whole thing reinforced with heavy card. Now almost indestructible but far too fiddly for me! (Figures to show size)

Seven Years War Prussian cuirassier in 15mm. Freikorps figures.

Seven Years War Austrian cuirassier in 15mm. Freikorps figures.

Seven Years War Wurttemberg infantry in 15mm. Freikorps figures.

American War of Independence Hessian Fusilier Regiment in 15mm. Peter Pig figures.