TFL Painting Challenge: First November Update

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Plenty of entries to log as we move into November and the penultimate month of this year’s challenge.

First up we have Stumpy with some more basing completed: Huns, Cossack-types and some big monsters!

Mr Helliwell has been as prolific as usual: a mix of 15mm and 28mm figures, including some unusual figures from Athena:

Mark Luther has been busy building some 6mm terrain pieces:

Sapper is still painting 28mm Napoleonics: here are two Reinbund Infantry units.

Carole is painting Roman Auxilia:

Finally, last but by no means least, Mervyn has been painting epic Pike and Shotte figures:

That’s all for this update, but there’s still plenty of time to get your entries in before the New Year deadline. Keep ‘ em coming!

TFL Painting Challenge: Late October Update

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There’s only a couple of months left before the end of the year, so what better time to get those Painting Challenge entries in.

First up this update, we have Carole, who has painted an outlaw band plus a couple of extras:

Next we have more “little planes” from Mr Luther: some real behemoths in this submission:

Nick Cooper has also been busy with a collection of figures fantasy. This is only some of them, so make sure you check out the rest in his full gallery.

Mt Helliwell sends in his usual large entry. Again, far more to see in his full gallery. Where does he find the time?

And last but by no means least is Sapper, with a mix of scales from 10mm through to 28mm:

There’s still plenty of time to get your entries in, so keep them coming!

Painting Challenge: First October Update

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Here’s a look at our first entries for October for this year’s Painting Challenge.

First up is Mr Helliwell’s monthly entry: mostly Napoleonics this time. Take a look in his gallery (accessed via the Nav bar, above) to see everything he’s sent in, but here are the four 24-figure 15mm British battalions, using AB Figures:

Next up we have Steve Burt with a couple of entries, all WW2 figures from Atlantic. Partisans and a lone German!

Chris Kay sends in some warrior women: Viking shield maidens and surely the one on the left in the last photo is the sci-fi equivalent…

Now we havea couple of mass army shots. On the left is Sapper with vast amounts of French Napoleonics; on the right is Mervyn with the beginnings of an ECW force (which is apparently my fault!):

That’s it for this update: keep sending them in!

Painting Challenge: Mid-September Update

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Some great entries this time around, headed by our two top contributors Matt and Andrew.

First up, here’s Matt’s latest offering: some fantastic terrain pieces nearly all built for a pirate game, me Hearties!

And here’s some of Andrew’s contributions: as always, a mixed bag:

Let’s look at the other entries received so far this month. Here are entries from Steve, Mervyn, Stumpy and Carole:

Some lovely work there…and be sure to check out their main galleries, accessible through the NavBar, above.

TFL Painting Challenge: Final August Update

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Peopl seemed to send their entries in just after I’d done the mid-August update, so thatseems to me like a good excuse to a small, but perfectly formed, final August update to the Painting Challange.

First up, we have Chris Kay, who sends us a mix of Star Wars Legion and WW2 BEF figures for us to admire:

Next we have the ever-productive Mr Helliwell, who has entered a mix of figures and some very nice home-made terrain:

Steve Burt has built a factory:

Last but by no means least, Stumpy has sent in a mix of painting and re-basing:

And so we’re into September: the last four months of the Challenge year!

TFL Painting Challenge: Mid-August Update

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Let’s do a quick Painting Challenge update before I head off into the tunnel that is six To The Strongest after action reports from Britcon.

First up is John Emmett, with ten 28mm buildings that he put together for an Arnhem project:

Next we have some French from Sapper: Normans in 15mm and Napoleonics in 28mm:

Steve Burt has sent in a couple of models to make the Nazis tremble:

And last, but my absolutely no means least (in fact, quite the opposite), we have Andrew Helliwell with a collection of terrain pieces and a few figures:

More to see in the individual galleries.

Keep them coming!

TFL Painting Challenge: First August Update

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The last couple of weeks have seen plenty of entries into the Painting Challenge.

First up is Sapper, with some rather nice French Napoleonics:

Next up is Mr Cooper, with a huge “catch-up” entry from the last couple of months. Here’s a selection of what he’s sent in:

Mark Luther has sent in some more 6mm aeroplanes. Here’s a niche offering: former FAA Hampdens flown in as convoy escorts that were left for the Soviets. I remember these from the RAF books my father had from before WW2!

Jonathan Davenport has been painting up the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment, along with a few outriders and plenty of guns:

Good to see that other people’s painting tabels look like mine!

Next is another big entry from Andrew Helliwell: a combination of figures and terrain. Plenty more to see in Andrew’s gallery, accessible from the NavBar at the top of the page.

Finally, here’s Mr Douglas and Mr Burt’s entries: Mervyn with some native North Americans, and Steve with some Italieri tank obstacles.

Do make sure you get to the individual galleries as well: lots of inspiration to feed off!

TFL Painting Challenge: Second July Update

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It’s been raining all day today…so a good excuse to spend a bit of time updating this year’s Painting Challenge.

Today we have entries from:

Mr Slade with a large entry of Romans and Pirates

Andrew Helliwell with a few units of WOTR types and plenty of terrain (and in multiple scales)

Then, to round up, we have entries from Mr Luther (huge numbers of little ‘planes), Mr Burt (some 20mm WW2 kit) and Mervyn (Morlocks!):

Make sure you check out everyone’s gallery, as there’s a lot more of their work in them.

Apparently it’s going to be raining all weekend, so take my advice and pick up those brushes and start painting!

TFL Painting Update: First July update

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Here’s a handful of entries to the Painting Challenge to set you up for July…

First up, we have Mr Slade, with some more terrain and the start of his next 28mm army:

Then we have our other most prolific painter, Mr Helliwell, with more medieval and WOTR types:

Chris Kay has a mix of old and new: an M54 truck and some Roman cavalry:

Stumpy adds to his ACW collection, with a Union artillery battery in 28mm:

and last but certainly not least, Steve Burt has been building terrain:

Some lovely work there, and plenty of time to get your entries in. There’ll be another July update in a couple of weeks, so pick up thsoe brushes and get to work!

TFL Painting Challenge: Second June Update

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I’m happy to say that there are already enough entries in to justify a second Painting Challenge update in June…so let’s have one!

First up is, I think, probably our largest single entry ever: Sapper has been, as he puts it, beavering away on a 28mm Napoleonic Russian army, earning himself a massive 1,300 points in one photograph:

An impressive achievement.

Next up is Mr Davenport, with a cracking mixture of ECW, WW2 and AWI figures: very nice indeed:

Carole has also been busy: a selection of 28mm character figures mostly from the excellent Bad Squiddo plus a handful of 15mm WW2 tanks:

Meanwhile, Mervyn has been painting dinosaurs:

It wouldn’t be a Painting Challenge update without something from Mr Helliwell…and as usual he’s actually sent in quite a lot of somethings for us to enjoy. This time it’s a mixture of Reconquista figures and terrain, just some of which are shown below:

And, finally, Steve Burt has the rest of the 02 Hundred Hours figures finished:

Plenty of inspiring work there, so pick up your brushes and let’s see if we can justofy a third June entry!

TFL Painting Challenge: First June Update

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It’s been a bit quiet recently on the Painting Challenge front: several of our regulars have commented that real life and/or wargaming events have got in the way of their painting. That said, still a good number of entries for our first June update

First up we have Mr Emmett with some lovely kit for an Arnhem game he’s running. I particularly like the Daimler Armoured Car.

Andrew Helliwell delivers next. He claims to have painted less than usual for this entry, but that still seems like quite a lot to me! Highlight is the medieval Italian carroccio with sacred banner…

Next up is Mr Burt, with the rest of his Java Seas ships and some late WW2 infantry:

Sapper sends in some rather nice 15mm Arabs with some 28mm WOTR in support!

And then to finish we have Matt Slade with some more 15mm Classicial Indians and Mervyn with huge numbers of 15mm ACW infantry:

So, as I said, a fairly quiet entry for the Challenge so far in June.

Do make sure you visit the individual galleries, accessed through the NavBar, above: some terrific work on display…and those of you who have entered this year: pick up those brushes and get moving!

TFL Painting Challenge: Early May Update

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The Challenge continues, and a vertiable cornucopia of entries in this time around…so let’s waste no more time and jump right in.

First up is the usual huge entry from Nick Cooper: all fantasy 28mm figures apart from three 54mm plastic Saracens that he claims to have painted “for a friend”…

Continuing the fantasy theme here we have a couple of large dragons from Ralph Plowman. These I have classified as 28mm aircraft: they have wings, don’t they!

Next up is the prolific Mr Helliwell, with a combination of 15mm Napoleonics and 28mm medievals:

After a long period of producing terrain, Carole has switched back to painting figures. Here we see some Back of Beyond infantry and archeologists, with a few Mexican Intervention types thrown in:

Stumpy has been painting and re-basing at speed this month. Here are some lovely Sarmation cataphracts along with some spear- and bow-armed infantry and a few Egyptian policemen to boot!

Finally here are entries from Mr Uther and Mervyn. Mark’s are the seaplanes, whilst Mervyn has been building Koreans houses and laying tracks:

Keep those entries coming in!

TFL Painting Challenge: Second April Update

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A second April update to keep on top of all the entries coming in.

First up, Mr Helliwell, who switches his attention back to 15mm Napoelonics with a large multi-unit entry of which the following are just some examples:

Carole is still producing vast amounts of terrain: a combination of ruins, buildings, fencings and plantings!

In amongst some more elephants, Mr Slade has re-based a significant dark age force. For those who don’t knwo, you can claim re-basing in the Challenge: you just score half points.

Excitingly this week, we have a new entrant to the Challenge: Des Darkin starts his quest for points with some 20mm WW2 troops. welcome Des: I’m sure that many more will follow.

Finally, a quick round up of the other entries received this week. Here we have John Emmett’s V1 rocket launcher; Mervyn’s Romans and the start of a massive fleet from Mr Burt.

Keep them coming!

REMINDER

Due to the fact that I have changed my domain hosting away from Yahoo to Squarespace, I have lost the admin@vislardica.com e-mail address. Silly me for not anticipating this and letting you all know! From now on, can we use vislardica@gmail.com please.

TFL Painting Challenge: First April Update

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I can see that the recent Easter weekend had many of you painting hard, so it must be time for the first April update to this year’s 10th Anniversary TFL Painting Challenge.

First up this time round is Mr Helliwell, with another large submission of 28mm WOTR figures:

Matt Slade is still painting his Classical Indians: here’s a couple of generals on elephants and two shots of the rather lovely camp he’s done:

Next up, Carole continues her quest to work her way through vast amounts of Mantic 28mm sci-fi scenery. Eight pieces submitted this update, here are four of them (you can see the rest in her gallery, acceissible vis the NavBar, above):

And to finish here are entries from Sapper (WOTR is 28mm), Mervyn (ACW in 15mm), Mr Burt (Napoleonic Hussars in 28mm) and a welcome return from Mr Luther (6mm railroad elements):

Keep them coming!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Due to the fact that I have changed my domain hosting away from Yahoo to Squarespace, I have lost the admin@vislardica.com e-mail address. Silly me for not anticipating this and letting you all know! From now on, can we use vislardica@gmail.com please.

TFL Painting Challenge: End of March Update

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Morning all. Just about time to sneak in another update to the 2024 TFL Painting Challenge before the end of the month…and quite a bumper update it is too.

Starting us off today is the stakhanovite Mr Slade, who has sent in not only a legion (pun intended) of 28mm Romans but just about a whole 15mm Ancient Indian army as well:

Not far behind in terms of sheer volume is Stumpy, with a large amount of figures based up and ready for the table. Here we have 28mm Napoleonics and the start of a 28mm Dacian army:

Carole has also been busy: painting up a large amount of 28mm sci-fi scenery items from Mantic. Carole also sent in some giant spiders, but they are far too creepy to post!

The Wars of the Roses is always a popular period for wargamers, and Mr Helliwell has been amassing a collection and a half of suitable figures. Here’s his latest offering:

Sapper has been putting the finishing touches to his Viking and his Arab armies, all in 15mm:

And, finally, Mervyn sends in some 15mm American Civil War cavalrymen:

Don’t forget you can see more of everyone’s work in their individual galleries (accessesed via the NavBar, above) and, for those who want to see even more, there are the galleries from previous years’ entries available as well.

It’s the long weekend coming up tomorrow, so enjoy the four days off work and use them wisely i.e. paint more figures!

TFL Painting Challenge: Another Update

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Apologies for the lack of posts this week: very busy at work…buit now that it’s the weekend, I have time to do a very necessary update to this year’s TFL Painting Challenge.

A good week this week, including the return of Mr Davenport after a four-year absence. He has sent in some very nice 28mm American War of Independence figures, all Perry 28mm with GMB standards:

Next up is Sapper, who has let the painting pile up and submits a vast cornucopia of 15mm figures: Polish Winged Hussars, Arabs and a few Vikings thrown in:

Another large entrant this week (in terms of number of figures not necessarily girth!) is Mr Helliwell, with another Wars of the Roses, late Medieval collection.

This is only a part of what Andrew has submitted, so do visit his gallery for more. I’ve also included one of his self-made ponds/march terrain pieces as well:

I love Mr Emmett’s work as well. Here he sends in some WW2 Poles and, featured below, a lighthouse, shed and dock:

Finally for this update, we have some Egyptian columns from Carole, some Dwarf command stands from Ralph, and some bases for Strength & Honour from Mervyn:

So a very good haul indeed this update, including Andrew Helliwelll being the first person to break the 1,000 point marker this year…but I’m sure there will be many more following hereafter!

TFL Painting Challenge: First March Update

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Let’s have a look what people have been sending in this time…

First up is Mr Helliwell, with more medievals. These are all billmen or longbowmen and are based on Perry Miniatures in 28mm:

Next we have Nick, who has sent in his usually cornucopia of fantasy figures in 28mm. I particularly like the Vendel Goblins and the zombie/ghouls, and there are plenty more of both in his gallery, accessed through the NavBar, above:

Lots of small scale aircraft sent in this time. Unusually not from Mr Luther or the Hat, but this time from Mervyn and Mr Burt. Mervyn’s are the aircraft for North Korea, Mr Burt’s are from the PSC Battle of Britain game:

Matt Slade, commission painter extraordinaire, has been finishing his Normans…but we know that’s not true: no army is ever truly finished. Loving the camp!

Finally, here’s Chris Kay’s cowboys and Romans, and Carole’s sci-fi scenery. Check out Chris’ new photography skills!

That’s two months of the year gone, and there are already some impressive totals being racked up. Check out the individual galleries (accessible via the NavBar, above) and remember: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…plenty of room for more entrants.

TFL Painting Challenge: February Update

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We’re over half way through February, and more entries are coming in all the time. Let’s have a look at what we have this update.

First up is Carole, with figures for a Darkest Africa campaign and some lovely scenery. You can see more of the scenery in Carole’s gallery, accessed through the NavBar, above.

Next up is Matt Slade’s first entry of the year. Last year Matt achieved the fairly incredible score of 6,033 points, a personal best and an excample for us all. Matt starts this year with over 500 points of painting, some of which are shown below:

Last year’s second highest entrant, Andrew Helliwell, has also been painting hard already in 2024. Andrew has already amassed almost 800 points, here’s some of this update’s entries:

Finally for this update we have entries from Stumpy and Ralph Plowman. Stumpy’s ar the Napoleonic French infantry (with adorable poodle at the front!) and the tank; Ralph’s are the Greeks: some of his oldest wargames figures repainted and rebased alongside some new light troops.

Plenty of time to get your entries in, so pick up your brushes and paint away!

TFL Painting Challenge: Second January Update

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I don’t usually do two updates in a month, but as it’s the begining of the year, and the begining of this year’s Challenge, lots of people are sending in entries all at once.

Do visit the individual galleries, accessed via the NavBar above, but here’s a look at what’s come in this time around:

First up is another big entry from Andrew: more medievals in 28mm. I’m loving the drunken soldiers in the second picture and will be oridering some of them myself!

John is back: and with some truly lovely WW2 vignettes. I love John’s work, and these look aboslutely great. Would that I was prepared to take the time and trouble to learn to paint as well as he!

I think my favourite is probably the German briefing: the second one in from the left. Unusual, beuatifully painted, and full of character.

Next up is Stumpy’s first entry of the year: lots of Ancient Germans based up with just the two lone British command figures from the Sudan as company.

Carole is back, and has been busy making 15mm terrain: lots of it. I always admire people who make their own terrain, as that’s something I find horrible tedious to do!

Here we have a cracking bridge (plus lots more river not shown), some woods, a marsh, and just an example of the many roads made.

Finally, as a round up, we have entries from Sapper, Mervyn, Chris and I.

Mervyn and Chris have their own line, with Sapper and I sharing one…and you should by now be able to tell whose is whose from the painting style and content!

Keep those entries coming!

Final Painting Challenge Entries for 2023

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A handful of last minute entries into the 2023 Painting Challenge, including David Scott’s first and last entries of the year just sneaking in before the 12 midnight deadline!

Today’s entries are the aforementioned Mr Scott’s Confederates and fencing; a horde of Byzantine cavalry from Sapper; the Peaky Blinders et al from Carole; and some Germanic types from Chris Kay.

There were some amazing entries into this year’s Challenge: two of our most prolific painters hit heights never before achieved: Matt Slade hits the 6,000 points mark (6,033), with Andrew Helliwell going past 5,000 points (5,008).

Honorable mentions must also go to Sapper, who achieved a new personal best this year with a score of 3,507; and to Mr Luther on 2,084.

Here’s a complete run down of the scores (and histories) of this year’s participants:

Be sure to check out everyone’s galleries: plenty of inspirational work to see.

The Challenge will be returning for 2024 - it’s 10 year anniversary - so be sure to clear that painting table, point those brushes, prime those models and get ready to hit a new personal best score!