TFL Painting Challenge: A Second Easter Weekend Update

Good to see that all of you are doing something useful with your holiday time: painting figures and sending in your entries to the painting challenge!

Lots of lovely entries again so, in no particular order, we have:

• Stumpy emerges from his lair for his first entry of the year: and a big entry it is too!
• Carole provides some support for her British infantry
• Fred Bloggs pops in some more 28mm figures
• AJH finishes off his forces for an Elephant game
• Mr Luther paints more 20mm Japs, and fills in some of the blanks in his gallery. Recommended for a look.
• Mr Burt provides the picture of his Skraelings. Sorry, Steve, but people tell me they preferred the picture of your cat!
• Benito sends in some lovely Moors
• And the ever-present Mr Slade kindly provides a pin cushion...I mean almost three hundred 6mm pikemen!

There are three pictures today. First up, Benito's Moors: gorgeous and make me want to go all El Cid myself.

And then let's have a picture from Mr Luther: what a lovely tabletop that is!

TFL Painting Challenge: Good Friday, Good Update

Sorry that there's been nothing from me for a couple of days: real life getting in the way of anything else. Worked in the office until 10.30pm last night: so add in commuting time and you're talking a 17-hour day!

Anyhoo, onto today's submissions:

• First up, we have Treadhead with some lovely 28mm vehicles and a fort
• Mr Naylor submits some teeny tiny trees and markers
• Steve Burt has finished some 28mm Skraelings, but rather than send me pictures of them, has sent me a picture of his cat. There are two jokes I want to make here, neither of which I'm going to!
• Mr Bowler, who has apparently and somewhat disappointingly never worn one, has finished more of his terrific ACW 1/600 buildings and fortifications, including a great big fort
• Ashley pops in a spaceship
• Andrew Helliwell is back with some more 15mm Soviets
• Joakim submits a colossal entry of big Dust troops and 28mm horror stuff
• and Mr Slade has some casualties

There are two pictures today. First up are Mr Treadhead's US vehicles in 28mm:

And secondly, and terribly predictably, here's Steve's cat:

TFL Painting Challenge: An Update

Getting to the stage where I have to do an update early on in the weekend in order to make time for an update after the weekend!

In no particular order, we have:

• Mr Bax makes a welcome return with his version of Frozen II
• Benito pops in a quick ATG
• AJH, desperate to get ahead of Topi, achieves some fences and a house
• Matt Slade submits some 28s, and lovely they are too
• Mr Naylor with some more little tanks
• I Am Bruce enters the Lardy five..might be a duplicate in there?
• Carole, with loads of half-tracks, some pimped
• And newbie Mr Milne enters Australians of both sizes (does that sound right to you?) and some British armour

Today's picture? Well let's carry on the tradition of showcasing a newbie's first entry. Here are Mr Milne's 15mm Australians:

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Morning Update

Fantastic day of rugby yesterday with the climax of the Six Nations. Once again England were so close but yet so far from becoming champions, but well done to the Irish anyway.

How can we maintain that level of excitement through to Sunday night? Why, an update to the painting challenge of course!

Today's achievements (and they are legion!) are:

• Mr Luther with some more 6mm planes (more photos please Mark!)
• Nils with a whole load of 10mm figures and a 15mm rabbit
• Mr Naylor with some more 6mm AFVs
• My favourite entry of the week: WillieB's Napoleonic fleet in 1/500th scale. This takes huim over 500 points and over his last year score...so double cheers all round
• Egg plays Captain Mainwaring with the Bang On Trend Home Guard platoon
•  Sapper with a mixed bag of 15mm & 28mm figures
• Mr Douglas with...yes, you guessed it, more LOTR figures...and a couple of 15mm Crusaders
• Carole builds a bridge and some bunkers, and populates them with Marders...and gets over the 1,000 point mark: huzzah!
• Mr Yuengling with more teeny-tiny tanks
• and finally Jason Ralls with some 28mm VBCW and WW2 figures

Today's picture, as you might have guessed, is of WillieB's ships. Very nice:

TFL Painting Challenge: So Many Entries, A Special Monday Nighter Is Needed!

Having updated the challenge on Saturday, I thought I'd be okay for a couple of days, especially as I am in the middle of writing up the AAR from Saturday night's game...but, no, unfortunately not: so many entries flooded in yesterday and today that I have had to sacrifice my AAR writing for a special Monday Night update.

So, in no particular order, we have achievements from:

• Treadhead in 28mm, a couple of Shermans and a farm
• Mr Douglas with yet more LOTR figures
• Benito hasn't painted much recently (been playing rather than painting, lucky man) but here are a fistful of grenadiers 
• Egg is re-born, sending in his first entry of the new year, a lovely company of Skytrex and Forged in Battle early war British infantry
• Jason Ralls has a platoon of his own to send in: Soviets in 28mm. These take him over the 1,500 points mark: huzzah!
• Topyob submits some 15mm infantry of his own...but no pictures again!
• Mr Luther pops in seventy Aussie militia: also no photo, but one is sure to follow. This entry takes Mark over 500 points.
• Jon Yuengling enters sixty-three 1/600 tanks...and could someone make him three Crusader AA tanks, please, in the same scale
• Matt Slade achieves his usual high painting standard with 36 VSF infantry in 28mm
• and, last but not least, Mr Baldwin submits ten tiny houses from Bacchus

Inspired by the above, I'm off to do some painting of my own now, but before I do, here's today's picture: Egg's British infantry in 15mm

TFL Painting Challenge: Post-Rugby Round-Up

Now that the rugby is over for the day (magnificent game Wales vs Ireland...more mixed feelings about the England vs Scotland game), it must be time for a painting challenge update.

A high volume of entries today:

• Mr 'I Am Bruce' submits some 28mm Romans and Polish-types (I have answered your query re farmyard animals via e-mail)
• Richard Naylor achieves some more 6mm modern Soviet tanks
• New entrant Lloyd Bowler (must not make a hat joke, must not make a hat joke) smashes his way onto the scoreboard with a whole range of 1/600 ACW riverine craft supported by some 20mm Soviets
• Topi is back with some 15mm BEF figures (you're still just ahead!)
• Mr Plowman submits some lovely 15mm sci-fi figures
• Carole had apparently finished painting figures for the moment (at least until the postman arrives) and so turns her hands towards building terrain, lots of terrain
• Matt Slade goes very small and then very large, with entries from 6mm to 35mm
• and finally Mr Yuengling pops in some more 28mm cowboy types

Three photos today: a close up of Mr Plowman's sci-fi figures; one of Mr Bowler's 1/600 ships, and Carole's walled garden...

Great Paint Job!

USS Ossippi in 1/600th scale

Carole's Walled Garden

TFL Painting Challenge: Tuesday Night

Hi all.

Enough achievements posted to merit a quick Tuesday night update.

In no particular order, we have:

• Joakim with some completes he forgot to mention last time
• Mr Helliwell with some more Hessian types
• Fred Bloggs lists what he painted in February
•  Andrew McCarthy enters more (pictures, Andrew, pictures!)
• Jon adds some men to his cacti
• And Topyob bangs in some AWI and FOW figures

Plus I've had several requests to badger Rich for pics of his painting...but I think I'd rather leave him to get on with rule-writing. After all, he's got to hurry if he's going to get everything finished by Easter!

As for today's photo...well, it's a few days late but it's my tribute to an actor who both was and was not his most famous character. RIP Leonard Nimoy, 1931-2015:

Live long and prosper!

TFL Painting Challenge: Saturday Night Update

Ah, as I listen to the oft-heard sound of wife and eldest daughter arguing about...well, I don't know what and, quite frankly, have no wish to know as I might then get dragged into it, I think it's time for a painting challenge update.

Today's entries are from:

• Mr Douglas with more LOTR figures
• Mr Baldwin with an entry that originally got lost and is now found: some 6mm Sudan figures and some 15mm WW2 American Paras (I must get started on mine)
• Joakim with twelve Brimstone figures
• Mr Luther with over 100 6mm infantry and 24 6mm AFVs
• Jon Yuengling submits some cacti
• Mr Slade submits some Prussians
• Our friend Topi submits some 15mm WW2 vehicles and guns
• Mr Ralls returns with some more re-basing and also a spot of Brimstone painting
• Bad news for Carole: she's been laid up with a bad foot...but good news for her painting challenge score as it's given her a chance to ready another prodigious entry

Carole also becomes the first person to beat her 2014 score (new entrants don't count) although I suspect her previous year's score was so low because she only started submitting entries late in the year!

Today's picture is a reminder to me to get on with my US Paratroops: it's Mr Baldwin's US Paratroopers...

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Night, Lots of Achievements

So here we are, Sunday night, the calm before the storm of a week's work ahead of us. What could sustain us through the darkness? Why, the TFL Painting Challenge of course!

Here, in no particular order, are this week's entries:

• Jon Yuengling paints more 15mm vehicles
• Mr Burt does Alexander and his Companions
• John de terre neuve submits some French, some pulp and some appropriately winter-like terrain
• Monsieur "I Am Bruce" enters some Dux stuff
• Carole, never off this list, submits another brigade of 15mm Nine Years War figures
• Treadhead pops in a squad of US troops for CoC, some heavy weapon teams to support them, and almost enough outhouses to see to their other needs!
• And Mr Helliwell adds some more 15s to his collection

Rare that I choose terrain as the pic of the day, but today I have. Herewith JDTN's winter terrain in 20mm:

TFL Painting Challenge: Is It Tuesday Already?

Some big entries tonight...no smirking at the back there!

We have:

• Mr Douglas with lots of LOTR infantry types
• Mr Ralls with lots and lots of 28mm infantry
• Mr Helliwell with some British Grenadiers
• Benito with some more DAK for CoC
• Tony Stapells swallows his embarrassment...
• The wonderfully named Maerk joins us, and enters some rather nice 28mm figures for Sharp Practice
• Topi reappears with a huge entry of 15mm figures that immediately sends him over the 250 point mark
• And Mr AJH pops in a triple brigade of 6mm ACW troops for Elephant

 Today's picture is from newcomer Maerk: a rather nice horse and cart for SP...

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Morning Update

Yes, it's an odd one: a Sunday morning update.

Well, it's early and no-one else is up, not quite light enough to paint by...so it must be a good time to do an update and perhaps tidy up a few bits and pieces on the site.

BTW if you have your own website and like Vis Lardica, as I'm sure you do, whether you're in the Challenge or not, do please put a link to VL on your site: the Lard must be shared with all! Whatever it says in the top nav, www.vislardica.com will get you here, and it won't take more than a moment of your time to do.

Now, on to today's Challenge entries...

• Joakim enters some 28mm fantasy figures
• Topyob bangs in some AWI figures (photos please)
• The prodigious Carole finishes a whole brigade of horse and an orc found in the back of her drawer. That takes her flying past the 500 point mark: huzzah!
• Mr Yuengling pops in three more panzers 
• Owen is back, and with a vengeance. Three entries at once: some 15mm infantry, and then an enormous amount of 6mm sci fi including 58 houses. Takes him straight past the 500 mark as well: huzzah again!

To all you people who have been slaving away all weekend but haven't managed to send in your entries yet: don't worry, I'm sure I'll do another update tonight, tomorrow or Tuesday!

Today's picture is of Carole's brigade of horse: how does she paint so quickly?

TFL Painting Challenge: Monday Night Update

And the entries keep pouring in!

If they keep up at this rate, we are going to have some seriously high scores this year.

So, in no particular order, achievements for today are:

• Nils Hedglin with a selection of fantasy Viking werewolves
• Sapper with some Garde Francaise and Mongol commanders
• The incredibly productive (and female) Carole with another 15mm brigade of infantry
• Mr Slade with some lovely Austrians
• Mr Douglas switches to 28mm
• Mr Ralls bangs in loads of 28mm foot and seven 15mm Vietnam-era tanks that take him past the 1,000 point mark already. Most impressive!
• Paul Blankenship paints more Japanese...49 knee mortarmen and some guns that take him past the 500 point mark, huzzah!
• Mr Helliwell moves away from Germans to...Hessians
• Paul Baldwin with some Perry handgunners
• Mr Yuengling with some early war Germans
• Mr Luther gets points for his trees (lots of trees, lots of points) but none for his stowage. Sorry, Mark, I judged this to be polishing rather than creating from scratch.
• Mr Duffell submits lots of lovely 28mm WW2 figures
• and finally Mr "I am Bruce" submits some Spartans and some guinea pigs

Today's pictures are from Mr Duffell: his Panther and a modified SdKfz 250:

TFL Painting Challenge: Tuesday Update

A Tuesday update for a change...mainly because I spent all last night watching Band of Brothers!

Today's achievements are from:

• Carole gets his act together and confirms the scale of his Anglo-Scottish Nine Years War Brigade from Lurkio
• Then adds loads of tanks and halftracks...not to the same army, I'm assured
• Mr Helliwell adds a couple of 15mm vehicles
• Benito sends in a lovely picture of an armoured car for the Spanish Civil War
• Mr Douglas adds some more Greeks (I'd love to repeat the joke about the elephants, but I try and keep the site as apolitical as possible!)
• Paul Baldwin, who probably can plow, adds some nice WoR men-at-arms and lots of teeny-tiny chaps from the desert
• Jon Yuengling with a big entry of planes and tanks in 6mm and 15mm
• New entrant "I'm Bruce" pops in a Sidney and a Finnish tank
• and Ashley adds some more sci-fi

Today's official pictures are from Benito (a Union Naval de Levante (UNL-35) armoured car for his Republican Army of the Spanish Civil War); newbie I'm Bruce (a Finnish tank); and Carole (the Anglo-Scottish Brigade).

Finally, one of the list above who shall remain nameless (no, it wasn't Carole) deserves a special mention for his attempts to claim for painting his mother-in-law's bedroom.

I was tempted to give him the points for a "building greater than 28mm", but then I remembered that in the past I've disallowed a greenhouse and a biscuit tin.

I know you all want to see it, so here it is:

Lovely.

TFL Painting Challenge: Saturday Night is the night for an update

Another huge batch of entries this week, from participants both old and new.

Some of the point scores being racked up already are incredible. It both bodes well for the challenge as a whole and inspires me to get my own finger out and finish the ten 15mm tanks sitting on my painting table.

Today's achievements are from:

• Regular Mr Yuengling with three Japanese tanks in 15mm
• Mr Baldwin with some literally small pickings
• The Mad Padre bursts onto the scene with three entries for January
• Matt Slade also adds three entries, including some SYW figures and the Ghostbusters (no controversy here: they are all of the male variety)
• Ralph Plowman plows on with his Fireforge knights (and yes, I'm sure he's heard that one before)
• Doug Melville reappears with a boxful of Wallachians and Hungarians
• Steve Burt adds a few more Makedonians
• Mr Ralls threatens to overwhelm his gallery with three more entries:  Bavarians, Wurttemburgers and a hotel for them to stay in
• Mr Luther adds some more of his lovely Japs and a double handful of 6mm vehicles
• Ashley Pollard also reappears...this time with some starships
• Newbie Andrew McCarthy adds some Italians and a KO'd T-34
• And the rather worryingly named 'Topyob' puts in seven 15mm vehicles and some British Guards.

There's another entry but as they (no names, no pack drill) forgot to let me know what scale the figures are and, unusually, I can't tell, they will have to wait!

Today's picture is from Mr McCarthy...the aforementioned Italians :

TFL Painting Challenge: Huge Update

Demonstrating just how big the painting challenge is getting, here's a huge update that represents under a week's worth of entries...

So, in no particular order, we have:

• Benito breaking his 2015 duck with some El Cid Moors
• Mr Yuengling with some more 15mm WW1 infantry
• Carole with a mixture of entries that include a rather nice scratchbuilt Normandy church and loads of Nine Years War Frenchies
• Mr Plowman adds some beautifully painted knights for his Rampant Lion army
• Fred Bloggs enters his usual mixture of weird figures: witches, dwarves and some figures who shall not be named for copyright reasons!
• Joakim adds some more big Dusters
• AJH eventually manages to submit some Dux B and TCHAE figures
• Mr Douglas adds more Greek cavalry - hope they got their votes in before posing for the photo
• Mr Ralls enters lots of monsters from the Shadows of Brimstone game
• Mr Luther adds more 6mm aeroplanes and some more 20mm Japs
• Mr Bax also appears in the lists for the first time in 2015, with some lovely Fallschirmjaegers and Dutch police
• Mr Blankenship achieves 'fousands of 15mm Japs (well, 157) and a lot of tanks and anti-tank guns
• Steve Burt builds an Airfix cafe
• and finally Mr Helliwell adds more Germans to his autumn collection

That's entries from 14 people this week. Not bad going considering its only January!

Today's pictures? From two people I think. Let's have Carole's scratchbuilt church and Mr Bax's Dutch police:

TFL Painting Challenge: Big Monday

Lots of lovely entries today: everyone's obviously been hard at work over the weekend!

In no particular order, we have:

• Oodles of figures from Jason Ralls
• And from Matt Slade, who also becomes the first person in 2015 to break the 500 point mark
• Treadhead submits a platoon of US infantry for CoC
• Mr Douglas puts in some pikemen
• Mr Helliwell some anti-tank guns
• New entrant Sapper submits loads of stuff
• Mr Luther comes back for more
• Mr Baldwin, of tractor-country fame, submits some very nice 28mm figures for Sharp Practice and Muskets & Tomahawks
• And finally newbie Mr John Michael pops in some nice Westwind figures

There are two pictures today. One is of Mr Baldwin's Companie de la Marine; the other is Treadhead's platoon commander. Lovely work!

TFL Painting Challenge: Quick Update

Great game of IABSM this morning, so to celebrate here's an update on the painting challenge.

Today's achievements are from:

• New recruit Mr Eggman Glass, from Canada, with some Italians for CoC
• Mark Luther makes his first appearance this year with some 20mm Japanese
• Thomas starts his year strongly with a very nice, and very crashed, flying saucer terrain piece
• Another Penguin, Joakim, submits some big figures for Dust
• Carole's second entry of the year is large amounts of 15mm figures for the Anglo-Dutch Nine Years War
• And Mr Slade also sends in his second entry of the year: some 25mm Austrians

Today's photo is from Mr Eggman Glass...it's not that bad a photo!

TFL Painting Challenge: Monster Update

The first really big batch of entries for the new year as people get themselves into the swing of things.

Before I list the achievements, however, thanks to those who sympathised with my toothache. Dentist tomorrow, but the weekend has been...bad!

In fact, if you told me I could make the pain go away by rubbing my forehead with a badger coated in curry sauce, I wouldn't currently be doing this: I'd be out in the undergrowth with a piece of cheese in one hand (do badgers eat cheese?) and a korma in the other!

Anyway, enough of my complaining, onto the achievements:

• new entrant AJH (who's actual name is so splendid I'm tempted to break his anonymity anyway!) has submitted a large 6mm ACW Union army to get himself going for the year
• Mr Plowman returns triumphantly with a very nice unit of crossbowmen
• WillieB also returns, with a massive entry of resting Napoleonic Frenchmen (but not unfortunately featuring the regimental crest of two dead Frenchmen crossed over a pile of dead Frenchmen)
• Mr Naylor enters his second achievement of the year (already) with some WW2 US infantry
• Paul Blankenship breaks his duck both this year and in the challenge as a whole with a massive entry of 6mm Cold War British, Americans and Soviets.
• Treadhead got religion over the holidays and pops back with a beautiful 28mm chapel
• Another newbie submits his second entry: Andrew Helliwell with more autumnal Germans 
• Carole Flint smashes in a very nice late WW2 British anti-tank gun unit and Big Man
• Mr Ralls survives Christmas and submits 28mm Napoelonics and 15mm WW2 figures
• Newbie Tony Stapells sends in his first entry: a Welsh DBA army with Murat in command (must have taken a wrong turn in the Alps (or was that Napoleon)
• And finally Mr Hodge submits his second entry for the year: a scratch built roof that merits being counted as a building in its own right, and two "Diddums Trucks" - don't ask!

That's not bad going for two weeks in!

Today's pictures are one of the shots of WillieB's Frenchmen and a pic of Carole's anti-tank guns:

TFL Painting Challenge: the Toothache Update

I'm up suffering from acute toothache (a traumatised nerve apparently) so thought I might as well update the painting challenge whilst I wait for the painkillers to kick in!

Today's entries are from:

• New entrant Andy Duffell with all sorts of bits and pieces
• New entrant Andy Helliwell with a 15mm mortar unit that is forever autumn
• Mr Hodge with a couple of Churchills and a nice ruined building
• Mr Yuengling with some British and Ottomans for the Great War
• Mr Burt with some Makedonians
• and Mr Douglas with some Illyrians

I'm going to feature both of Mr Hodge's entries as today's pictures: two Battlefront Churchills in 15mm and a ruined house from Goldfinger:

TFL Painting Challenge: First Update of 2015

Here is the first painting challenge update of 2015. I wasn't expecting to post one so soon, but some of you have been so quick off the mark that it seemed churlish to wait.

• First off the blocks was Richard Naylor, with a cheeky 4Ground house. Still waiting for a picture, but logged at 5pm on 1st January: an impressively quick start to the year.
• Next up we have Richard Danziger, with three 15mm tanks.
• Finally we have the first of what I am sure will be many entries from Matt Slade. Obviously working like a demon over Xmas, he has already finished over 200 points worth of achievements for 2015. Looks like he's out to break that 5,000 point barrier whilst us mere mortals can only wonder at how he does it!

Today's pictures are from Mr Slade. One of his dwarf pics, and a couple of bug pics. Wish mine looked as good as that!