'Fellowship' from FranL: Irish UN Force

Totally forgot about the bonus until 25 minutes ago, hence the shocking pictures taken under a caravan light and some hastily written drivel, we are both using the internet and the pictures took 30 mins to download.........

This was a project bought quite a while ago for my modern period but thought I could use it represent fellowship, a force to represent the Irish army serving with the UN, I had to use eureka minis Australians who carry the steyr as a damn close representation (well in my mind maybe) and two scorpions (the only 15mm vehicles currently available to buy).....

I consider the Irish military a fellowship of brotherhood and professionalism especially with it's service with the UN (a member since 1955, peacekeepers since 1958, 86 lives lost in that time), there is a link for further information....

I painted the minis in the best representation of the current uniform and even tried the tricolour patch on their uniforms, the UN on the helmet may happen in the future.....

Pictures are shocking.......

I had them in a scenario where they are assisting Israeli forces on the Golan Heights (where there are Irish forces currently) fighting the zombie hordes from World War Z!

32 figures and 2 vehicles......

'Water Feature' from FranL: How water was one of the features in his demise...

This is a small 28mm figure, technically bordering on a flat, it belongs to a bigger set from Foundry but I felt it screamed water feature...

........well apart from the knife I figured the water was a feature in his demise?

'Mercenary' from FranL: Jane"Boobies" Rambo...

......bare breasted mercenary queen!

The terror of South East Asia, the little known sister of more well known John Rambo but no less fearsome to injustice anywhere she finds it!

Another free figure from Ray "Budgie Smuggler" Rousell and my lovely goddaughter's care package/christmas present, the 28mm mercenary from Belt Fed Gaming also known as Rambo Lynne!

She is a "for the points" submission as Ray "Sandbag Badger" Rousell pulls too far ahead.......

Poor painting and even poorer camera work but hey ho........

Sport from FranL: Zombie Cheerleaders

The bonus rounds were going to be difficult until a care package from Ray and my Goddaughter arrived and one of the items within was a pack of 28mm zombie cheerleaders, I do confess that I did these basically for the points because my 28mm zombie collection is long gone. I feel this is reflected in the painting skill I used for a better word, I don't like how they turned out but I'll console myself with the points though..........

...but maybe that's how they should look after 10 years of cheering on the sidelines of a ZFL game between Notre Damned and Arizona Blood Devils.

I believe the figures are from a range from Colonel Bills Wargames Depot?

Cheers Ray!

'Reconnaissance' from FranL: Drones

My submission for the Reconnaissance round, these are 15mm drones from GZG with an operator from White Dragon Miniatures.

The ability to observe a region to locate an enemy.........

They are part of a much larger force based on a futuristic attempt by US forces to defend Earth from an alien threat or to head out in to the solar system.

Possibly with Russian help..........

Pictures are taken with a camera phone as normal camera was terminated by rodents.......

'Choice of the Challenge' from FranL - Selected Work

'Risk Taker' from FranL - 'I give you a Lady of Negotiable Virtue...'

......and Curtgeld!

This is Shawnee, a lady of negotiable virtue, a little too much make up, the less than subtle clothing and a little long in the tooth to be pounding the streets but a hooker with a heart of gold, the risks and gambles she has taken have made her the cynic and survivor she is today!

I believe she is a Reaper miniature.

She is currently working her way over to Canada!

This was meant to be my L'amour figure entry but internet issues derailed this so she entered this bonus round!

'Nautical' from FranL - '15mm Somali pirates, a little nautical controversy?'

15 Somali pirates from Khurasan Miniatures, all 15mm, will more than likely use these in my African Militia forces...

Many Somali pirates see themselves as good guys. And at one point, they were. After the government in Mogadishu collapsed in 1991, neighboring countries began illegally fishing in Somali waters. The first pirates were simply angry fishermen who boarded these foreign vessels and demanded a "fee." But as the illegal fishing persisted, some early pirates banded together and called themselves "coast guards." They claimed to be looking after Somalia's territorial integrity until the government could pull itself back together.

These weren't the only vigilantes on the scene, however. Other pirates made their debut robbing U.N. ships that were carrying food to refugee camps in Somalia. These bandits argued that if they hadn't taken the food, warlords would have seized it on land. And they had a good point. Warlords gobbled down at lot of Somalia's relief food during the 1990's.

But from these perhaps defensible beginnings, piracy spread farther from Somalia's shores and evolved into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. Today, pirates are blunt about their motives. In late 2008, after a band of pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter full of weapons and demanded $25 million for its release, Sugule Ali, a member of the pirate crew, told a reporter, "We only want the money."

By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only 9 vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with zero successful hijackings. Control Risks attributed this 90% decline in pirate activity from the corresponding period in 2012 to the adoption of best management practices by vessel owners and crews, armed private security on board ships, a significant naval presence, and the development of onshore security forces.

In January 2014, the MV Marzooqah initially sent out a distress signal indicating that it was under attack by pirates in the Red Sea. However, the container vessel turned out instead to have been seized by Eritrean military units as it entered Eritrea's territorial waters.

'Defensive Terrain' from FranL - 'The Most Prolific Defensive Terrain in History?'

Nothing to see here.........

Just the pretty flowers.........

Wait a minute, what's that?............

One of the more controversial weapons of  all time.........

The name originates from the ancient practice of military mining.......

Seemingly the first mines were developed/used around 1277 by the Chinese.......

Placing minefields without marking and recording them for later removal is now considered a war crime........


The laying of land mines has inadvertently led to a positive development in the Falkland Islands. Mine fields laid near the sea during the Falklands War have become favorite places for penguins, which do not weigh enough to detonate the mines. Therefore, they can breed safely, free of human intrusion. These odd sanctuaries have proven so popular and lucrative for ecotourism that efforts exist to prevent removal of the mines..........

28mm scale, manufacturer unknown...........

'Epic Fail' from FranL - Not just an Epic Fail, Epic Fails...

.....to kill one man?

A 15mm franchise that failed to kill one specific British secret agent......

OddJob and Auric Goldfinger (and the laser was right there!).......

Ernst Stavro Blofeld (five credited actors played a Blofeld and only two were bald) and the beauty Rosa Klebb with the steel in the toe......

Pussy Galore who had the chance to end him but then slept with him.....

Many fails to kill our hero.........

Miniatures from Khurasan Miniatures.

Cue the music!

'Nostalgia' from FranL - Sometimes I wish for the old days...

When I was a lot younger and first started wargaming or playing with soldiers, I used boxes of plastic figures (unpainted) but being very naive I would pitch forces against each other that were simply different colors but not necessarily enemies (Prussian Landwehr vs Scottish Highlanders, Viking vs Romans etc....?).

My mum would go to town to shop and play a bit of bingo most Saturdays, now my Mum hated my hobby and would throw out and any figures she found but this just made me more determined, so I would hide the figures under a loose floorboard in my bedroom and with the aid of an old subbuteo cloth pitch (turned upside down) and maybe a book under the cloth to show hills (terrible for figure stability) and sometimes a river was needed, so some blue paper and we have water!

I would have the best of times and pack away everything before Mum got home, these were the days of easy games and knowing nothing anything  better, now we worry about historical accuracy, paint guides, the best sculpts, scenery, rules etc...... (I used to just throw small bits of lego at the figures and if the figure fell over it was dead!).

Now I love wargaming and actually playing games with rules, but I look back at those days with a twinge of nostalgia and sigh.......

I put this bit of tat a display together with some 15mm (ish) plastic figures, some green stuff to represent the subbuteo cloth, the figures were given an undercoat, a basecoat with a touch of drybrushing, it does look a little shocking but then so was the gaming at the time...........