Shipbucket

Since I missed the last challenges, I used the holidays to come up with some refined uniforms.

Some thoughts:
- the communication-officer also serves as intelligence and documentation specialist
- the breacher has access to a variety of different tools and gadgets (the Stihl is just an example)
- Spotter an Marksman operate as a solo team

Description:
This image depicts the "Class 2" variant of the Menghean 10-man rifle squad, which formed the backbone of the Menghean Army in the mid-2000s at the outset of a major military modernization program. Today, all active-duty formations use newer uniforms, equipment, and organization, but they can trace their lineage to this core unit structure. Furthermore, most mobilization reserves and some Homeland Defense units still use the Class 2 squad variant, arming themselves with older equipment handed down from active units. The 10-man squad is used in foot-borne and APC-borne units, including foot-borne units trained for air assault and amphibious assault. In IFV-borne units, a smaller 7-man squad is used instead, with one rifle team removed.

Equipment Classes:
In the Menghean Army and Menghean Marine Infantry, the "Class number" is a system for categorizing units based on the generation of equipment which they carry. Lower numbers denote older equipment, and higher numbers denote newer equipment. These differences in equipment also correspond to differences in organization: e.g., a Class 4 motorized infantry battalion has ATGMs at the company level, while a Class 2 motorized infantry battalion does not; and a Class 1 motorized infantry battalion has recoilless rifles in place of its ATGM platoon, with different manning requirements. Generally speaking, in 2020, elite and specialized divisions are Class 4 type, general active divisions are Class 3 type, mobilization reserve divisions are Class 2 type, and Homeland Defense units are Class 1 type; but it would be a mistake to conflate Class number with active/reserve status, as units are constantly upgraded from one Class to another as new equipment leaves the production lines.

Squad Organization:
Across equipment classes, the Menghean 10-man rifle squad is divided into a fire element and a maneuver element, and the Class 2 squad is no exception.

Squad Commander and Squad MG
The squad commander, who typically holds the rank of Sergeant, commands the squad on foot and carries a radio for communicating with the platoon commander and other squad leaders. Fireteam leader walkie-talkies are not part of the Class 2 TO&E, so the sergeant must rely on voiced commands and hand signals to relay orders to the rest of the squad.

The squad machine-gunner is armed with a Type 67 machine gun, or GCh-67. This is a variant of the standard JS-67 rifle with a bipod and a longer, heavier barrel. He carries three 100-round drum magazines; four more are distributed around the squad, for a total of 1,000 rounds. Though widely produced in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, these drum magazines were ill-liked for their bulkiness and poor reliability, and often had problems feeding after becoming dented. A quad-stack 60-round casket magazine was introduced in the late 2000s to replace it, but surviving drum magazines remain common. If all of the machine-gunner's magazines are jammed or exhausted, his weapon can also accept 30-round box magazines from the other squad members, and vice versa. Belt-fed machine guns, in the Class 2 Motorized Infantry Battalion, are grouped at the battalion level and attached to individual companies and platoons as needed.

AT Team
The anti-tank team consists of an AT grenadier and an assistant AT grenadier. They carry the Type 40 handheld rocket launcher, or SHB-40, a derivative of the Letnian RPG-7. Key differences with the latter weapon include a carry handle, a lighter heat shield, and a lighter rear handle or shoulder rest, though it is compatible with all RPG-7 ammunition types. The AT grenadier's backpack contains the SHB-40 and up to two SH-40Ss tandem anti-tank projectiles; these are too long for the assistant AT grenadier's pack, which contains other rocket types. A typical front-line combat load, shown here, consists of two SH-40Ss tandem anti-tank projectiles, one SH-40Yŏ thermobaric projectile, and two SH-40G high-explosive projectiles, as well as their booster sections.

In anticipation of high-intensity engagements with a parity mechanized foe, Menghean Army doctrine treats the SHB-40 as the AT grenadier's primary weapon. Apart from the rocket launcher, he only carries a D-94 9mm pistol, and would rely mainly on the assistant AT grenadier for defense against infantry. During the First and Second Innominadan Crises, it was common for AT grenadiers to "borrow" carbines or submachineguns from the vehicle crew or from arms depots, though this was technically against regulations. Some sources assert that if a squad sustained a casualty, the AT grenadier would be expected to take the casualty's weapon and ammunition, preserving squad firepower; leaked Menghean Army training manuals, however, do not say anything about this practice.

Rifle Teams
In the 10-man rifle squad, there are two 3-man rifle teams, each consisting of a fireteam leader, a rifleman, and a rifle-grenadier. One of the fireteam leaders is a Corporal, while the other may be a senior rifleman in his 2nd year of conscripted service. In typical maneuver operations, one fireteam provides covering fire while the other moves up to a new position, from which it will support the first team's advance. During this process, the squad commander, squad MG, and AT team provide additional fire support from the rear.

Only the two grenadiers are issued carry pouches for rifle grenades, but all riflemen are trained in their employment. Where necessary - for example, ahead of an ambush or before an assault on a dug-in position - the grenadier may distribute one grenade to each rifle team member, allowing massed grenade fire at the start of an engagement. Early-model rifle grenades for the JS-67 are fired using special blank cartridges, also included in the rifle grenadier's carrying pouch; newer models have a built-in bullet trap and can be used with standard-issue ammunition.

Equipment:
All riflemen, as well as the squad commander and assistant AT grenadier, are armed with the JS-67 assault rifle, chambered in 7.62x39mm. This is Menghe's domestic derivative of the ubiquitous Letnian AN-47 or ANM. Key differences with the ANM include a smooth dust cover, a more level buttstock, a longer handguard, a more sharply angled pistol grip, and, most distinctly of all, a spigot at the end of the barrel for mounting rifle grenades. It is also fitted with a mounting lug for the distinct but impractical 32cm sword bayonet, which echoes a design Menghe used in the Pan-Septentrion War (1933-1945). The JS-67 uses the same rockback magazine lock as the ANM, and can use ANM magazines. Each soldier is issued six magazines in three double-stack pouches, in addition to any extra ammunition for the squad MG.

In 49 BBY, the Trade Federation of Planets and the Republic of Demondia had come to a series of lucrative trade deals, giving the Trade Federation a near total-monopoly on the sale of rare strategic resources mined by the Republic on its various worlds. In exchange for these deals, the Trade Federation gave the plans for its OOM security droids to the Republic, who began a program to replace its human-manned army with a droid one, citing the unethical nature of the draft that was in place at the time which forcibly conscripted males aged 17 to 45 for military service.

Development on a copy of the OOM droids was undertaken by DroTec and would take years for functional models to be produced. DroTec identified a number of faults and deficiencies in the OOM design, both in hardware and software, and went through an extensive remodeling process of the two. After so long however, all existing OOM software was thrown out and a new framework was made. The new framework would be configured just for combat, as policing and non-military security duties were still to be conducted by the Republican Police Force, which meant it would still be done by humans. Over time, a servile protocol for maintenance on various ships, vehicles and other army equipment would be created as well.

By 45 BBY, DroTec would unveil its new droid, known as the MPD-332 in the Republican Army. The MPD-332 could be called an inbetween of the OOM and later B1 battle droids, and of the B2 super battle droids. It was more capable and less prone to AI malfunctions than the B1, as well as more resistant to blaster fire, explosions, and general wear and tear, however it was more expensive to produce than the standard B1. Clone Troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic were known to call them B1.5s at times due to their nature.

Production would be rapid, as DroTec switched production from commercial protocol droids to filling the massive military order that came in. During the Clone Wars, when production would be ramped up, other, more minor droid manufacturers such as Auto-Weld Industries and Globus Engineering would be contracted to produce the MPD-332 as well.

Standard equipment for the MPD-332 would be magazine pouches, a thermal detonator container and optional gear such as a macrobinocular device that could be fitted much in the same way similar devices could be fitted on the later Republic Clone Trooper helmets.

Weaponry would be provided by the state-owned Republic Ordinance Armories. The mainline blaster would be the BL-33D, a modification to the previous issue blaster, with the D denoting its use for droids. The BL-33 would see much of the safety features to protect humans being removed, as well as a new trigger assembly to work better with the hands of the MPD-332. Comparable to most other blasters in service, it did not have a selectable power setting and no stun feature, as this was an army only weapon, and civilian pacification would in theory be taken care of by detachments from the RPF. The BL-33’s power cell is good for 50 shots. The trigger is capable of semi and repeating fire. Pulling the top of the trigger engages the semi-automatic fire, while pulling the bottom engages the repeating mode. This works with the two “fingers” of the MPD-332. The rate of fire is roughly 800 shots per minute.

The BL-33D was designed to be a modular system, and spawned two major variants that would see service with the droid army of the Republic. The BL-33DS and HBL-33D were built off the BL-33D, but with a reinforced receiver to take both longer and more powerful firing. The BL-33S is the standard sniper rifle model. Fitted with a stock from the human-use BL-33 and a longer barrel the rifle is very accurate compared to the standard BL-33D. It also has a much more powerful firing system, which does reduce the effective shots per power cell. A standard power cell when used in a BL-33DS will only produce 10 shots instead of 50. The sniper rifle also features a macrobinocular optic allowing an operator to get distance and altitude of whatever the optic was placed over.

The HBL-33D was the standard heavy repeating blaster model, roughly analogous to the T-21 or DLT-19 repeating blasters. Fitted with an extensive cooling system and longer barrel to allow for more accurate firing during prolonged bursts, it also was commonly issued with expanded power cells that allowed for 150 shots. The expanded power cell could be used in regular BL-33 series blasters, and the standard 50-round power cell can be used in the HBL-33D, allowing for ease of logistics and the ability to keep firing in the event that the heavy gunners expend all their ammunition in combat.

Along with blasters, a new projectile launcher would also be adapted from human-use to droid use. This would be the SPL-7. Firing anti-armor missiles, concussion missiles or even proton torpedoes, the launcher featured a quad-barrel and loaded missiles in four missile “cartridges” of sorts. The trigger is adopted from the BL-33D, but only produces one launch per trigger pull. A guidance device can be fitted for the use of guided missiles.

Thermal detonators, designated TND-19 were retained from the human army. The fuse has an adjustable timer or can be set to impact. The effective range of the blast is six meters with an MPD-332 being able to throw a TND-19 over 30 meters.

---

By 39 BBY, the Republican Army had transitioned almost entirely to droids, with the only humans being high-ranking officers, high competence maintenance personnel, and special forces. The close relationship between the Trade Federation and the Republic would begin to erode following the Invasion of Naboo, the ensuing Trade Wars, and the Eriadu Trade Summit all happening in 32 BBY. This saw the worryingly rapid militarization of the Trade Federation which itself was coming with an overall worsening of the Galactic situation. While not an ally of the Galactic Republic in any sense, if anything being opposed to them, this drew the Republic of Demondia closer to them.

This would come to a head in 30 BBY when a Trade Federation fleet consisting of a single Lucrehulk-class and some Captor-class heavy cruisers attempted to blockade Cellus, in an attempt to force the Republic of Demondia to renegotiate the old trade agreements. The Republic deployed much of its navy, which consisted mainly of Dreadnaught-class cruisers, CR90-class corvettes and DP20-class frigates. The ensuing space battle would end in a Republic victory, but at the expense of a huge portion of its fleet. This ended all friendly relations with the Trade Federation and would see to the Republic’s own militarization and expansion in preparation for the coming galaxy wide conflict.

The preparation would come to pay off in 27 BBY when the Republic and the newly formed Confederation of Independent Systems would go to war. The Demondian Republic would throw its hat in with the Galatic Republic, citing years of provocation and warlike behavior by the now-members of the newly formed CIS.

The first engagements would find the Demondian Republic in fierce defensive battles on planets in the Outer Rim. Lacking in numbers as the GAR focused its attention north, the Demondians along with various planetary and sector defense forces began to conduct fighting withdrawals from many planets. The Demondian droids made a name for themselves as an effective and capable force, able to conduct offensive operations even in the face of the generally overwhelming droid armies of the CIS. Their effectiveness however was marked by a general disregard of the droids, with friendly fire, and “friendly fire” incidents being common. Very early on, the previously dark gray painted droids were being replaced by white-painted droids. Being painted dark gray, they were commonly mistaken for super battle droids or for commando droids. Priority was not put on repainting all droids, so instead replacement would be done via attrition, as replacement droids would arrive, they would slowly replace the older, gray-painted ones.

This is the time period from which the platoon is depicted. The mixture of gray and white droids along with gray and white equipment, such as the macrobinocular devices on the various droids. Along with this, the white painted droids in command positions also gear ranking marks from the GAR. This was to allow for rapid identification by various Republic forces, as the Demondians themselves did not put rankings on them but did assign them ranks according to what their function was in the platoon.

The platoon is of a mostly conventional layout, consistanting of a platoon leader, whose main role is to coordinate the movement and position of the platoon to the company commander. Orders from higher commanders are transmitted from the platoon leader to the platoon sergeant. A Grand Army of the Republic liaison clone lieutenant in their early Phase 1 armor and with their own DC-15A blaster rifle. The liaison officer acts as an intermediary between clone units and the droid unit he is attached to. It is a position few clones wish to be in, as working with “clankers” even if allied to them, is considered to be very demeaning. A platoon sergeant to command the sections themselves and to interpret orders from the platoon commander. Also two scout units are located in the command section, armed with their sniper rifles, they form a lead element in scouting ahead of the platoon and feed information to them via their scout droid or directly via their macrobinoculars. They are equipped with the ASD-11, a scout droid that can relay information to the scouts and the command element.

From there there are three combat sections per platoon. Commanded by a sergeant they are organized into two teams of five, a “Gun Team” and a “Rocket Team”. The gun team is tasked with establishing fire superiority with their heavy blasters and assistants. While the rocket team is tasked with hard target and anti-tank work. The teams are commanded by Team Leaders who follow the squad leaders orders and organize and lead their fellow droids.

The droids are able to transmit and execute orders between them without any need for audible speaking. This allows the droids to act with minimal sound, only producing sound when moving rapidly and firing. Clone troopers and other regional defense troopers find this unsettling at times, as the droids do not normally communicate their operations to their allies unless there is an operational need for it.

Standard ammo allotment is six power cells plus the one loaded in the blaster. Additionally, extra expanded power cells are issued out to provide spare ammo to the heavy blasters. Additional equipment is made available as needed. Heavy vehicles and transport vary, and the droids are able to collapse down to a much smaller size for compact storage.

Love the Star Wars stuff.

Batavian Pantsergrenadier Divison armoured reconaissance company infantry squad.



In 1954, after the resolute defeat of Neo Taiping Heavenly Kingdom forces (european name) in the province of Yunnan by an alliance of Directorate, Batavian and Warlord's Tse Cheng's forces, the dutch decided not to hold their side of the agreement and backstabbed Tse Cheng, encircling and defeating his main army and executing him on December 20, known thereafter as black thursday. Thereafter, a pacification campaign commenced throughout south China across Cheng's former territory. The 4th Armoured Grenadier Division "Groningen" had been heavily involved in the fighting since relieving the 2. Amphibious Legionary Regiment "Zeeland" on Chungking, and kept deployed for the pacification operation. This formation had been shipped from the Netherlands in 1952 and had been attached to the Asian Armies Group. Attached to this division was the 7th Reconnaisance Company of Vaesrade, a crack unit formed in the 1930's, which fought the Germans from 1938, was evacuated from Europe in 1941, and landed back in Europe in 1943 to make their way to Berlin by 1946. This unit was at the forefront of the 4th's advances in China and often detected, sprung and engaged enemy ambushes, ranging from disorganized militias equipped with little more than bolt-action rifles and improvised weapons to veteran remenants of Cheng's forces using automatic weapons and quick firing artillery of various calibers.

Each Reconnaisance Platoon consists of a Platoon HQ mounted in a Kloek tracked scout vehicle, four Kloeks form the Scout Section, two Koen APCs carry the Platoons two infantry squads, two Boos Light-Medium tanks provide mobile firepower to the unit, and two Koen mortar-carriers act as fire support.

Depicted here is the first of two rifle squads of the 2nd Recon Platoon. These soldiers belong to the pantsergrenadier branch and are thus named Grenadiers. While not stormtroopers, these soldiers wear the camouflaged coat and pants of stormtrooper units. Their helmets are painted to match. The purple patch on their arms displays the number 7, and indicates they belong to the 7th Recon Company. On their collars are black patches of the Grenadiers branch with stripes indicating their ranks. This squad consists of:

Eelco Darmawan, Section Commander, Sergeant: A veteran of the 2nd German war, his two golden stripes on his sleeves indicate over 10 years of service. The sergeant is the leader of the squad and the first fireteam, often dubbed the “maneuver” team due to its lighter firepower. He is armed with a 10mm Ap m/38.51 SMG and carries smoke and frag grenades, and a single rifle grenade for his Grenadiers.

Marius Bakker, Grenadier, 1st Class Grenadier: A veteran soldier but not one of the old timers, he carries a state of the art 6.5mm Zg m/40.54 self-loading rifle, a powerful if heavy weapon that has a fire selector for fully automatic fire, but is almost always kept in semi-auto. It sports a bipod and a carry handle. He carries a rifle grenade, a frag grenade and an ammunition drum for the automatic rifleman. Ammunition for his rifle is carried in large square leather pouches.

Lucius de Vries, Rifleman, 2nd Class Grenadier: This position should be issued a Zg m/40.54, but the realities of supplying an expeditionary army meant de Vries would be issued a Kb m/1929.41 bolt-action carbine at the start of the campaign. However, Company HQ made sure to check into a pre-war arms cache on the coast, and several ancient but reliable Zg m/15.27 were donated to the 4th. de Vries sports one of these heavy air-cooled automatic rifles of Great War vintage. He also carries numerous ammunition drums for the hungry weapon.

Sebastiaan Visser, Grenadier, 3rd Class Grenadier: The second grenadier in the maneuver team, he is equipped much like his fellow grenadier, but dispenses with the drums of the automatic rifle in exchange for more rifle grenades.

Jacobus Van Dijk, Rifleman, 3rd Class Grenadier: The final member of the maneuver team, Van Dijk is the 2nd newest member of the squad, and is issued with a bolt-action Kb m/1929.41 carbine. This weapon is fed from stripper clips, but the rifleman carries magazines for the automatic rifles on their larger pouch as well.

Clemens Lebowitz, Squad 2nd In Command, Corporal: The 2nd oldest serving member of the squad, Corporal Lebowitz’s sleeves show 1 golden bar denoting over 5 years of service. He has been issued a 10mm Ap m/38.51 SMG and carries numerous magazines in their long pouches. He also carries a smoke grenade, a frag grenade and an ammunition drum for the “fire” team’s machine gunner.

Bartholomeus Dewa, Automatic Rifle No.1, 1st Class Grenadier: The man in charge of the firepower in the fire team, he’s issued with the large and heavy Ag m/28.37, an old but reliable weapon that’s capable of putting a considerable barrage downrange. This version of the weapon features a quick change barrel with a carrying handle on it, a pistol grip, a bipod and 60-round drum magazines. He also carries 20-round box magazines which are compatible with the weapon as well.

Paul Peters, Automatic Rifle No.2, 2nd Class Grenadier: The machine-gunner’s assistant, is in charge of supporting the No.1 with burden, ammunition, spare barrel and fuelling his nicotine addiction. He’s equipped with the 10mm Ap m/38.51 SMG but only carries 3 magazines for it. He instead is burdened by 60-round drums for the machine gun, a spare barrel, and the gun’s kit with a spare bolt and cleaning kit (and cigarettes).

Francis Nkwali, Grenadier, 3rd Class Grenadier: The third newest member of the squad is trusted with a Zg m/40.54 and several rifle grenades, and also frag grenades, for which a cup adaptor can be fitted to be fired from the rifle. He too carries a 60-round drum magazine for the machine gun.

Hein Boogaard, Rifleman, 3rd Class Rifleman: The newest member of the squad, Boogward wears his uniform and webbing impeccably, as well as his goggles, despite not being mounted, and has been photographed at attention despite the rest of the squad standing rather loose. He is issued the only other Kb m/1929.41 carbine the squad hasn’t been able to get rid of. He carries pouches for his own clips, for a box magazine and also a 60-round drum for the machine gun. New members quickly loosen up after their first ambush, if they survive.

Tycho De Jong, Vehicle Commander, Chief Corporal: Not dependant on the squad leader, but included for the sake of completion, the APC crews answer to the Platoon HQ, but in practice end up listening to the veteran squad leaders in battle, as they have developed a sense for ambushes and other sticky situations. He carries an Ap m/38.51 SMG, and wears the m/42 tanker coverall and the rather large m/38 tank commander helmet, a burdensome item equipped with high quality headphones and microphones.

Rudolf Ng, Driver, 2nd Class Hussar: The vehicle crews belong to the armour branch, and are thus are named Hussars. Their collar patches are red. Ng wears an m/42 tanker coverall and an m/40 field cap. He is issued an Ap m/38.51 SMG and stores most of the unit’s cigarette stock.

SD 711 Koen APC: Touted as the future standard carrier for the Armoured Grenadier and Heavy Infantry Divisions, the Koen began replacing a plethora of mobile equipment issued before and during the 2nd German War, but ended up being too expensive to completely fulfill this requirement. It was later completely replaced by the PVV(R ) family of vehicles beginning in the late 1960s. This particular example, named Helltaker, is of an early pattern, but has been modified on the field by the recon troops to better fulfill this mission. It features a pintle mounted 15mm Ak m/51 autocannon with an improvised shield and two 8mm Mg m/08.15 on improvised pintle mounts with shields, these last also “donated” from the weapons cache. The armour, up to 50mm thick, was deemed strong enough for the vehicle’s role, so appliqué armour was rarely seen on them during the Warlords Conflict. Driver Ng has decorated the vehicle with his own handiwork, out of regulation for the Netherlands army but common on overseas fronts.

76th mechanised rifle company, paranormal intervention division 6, Saderan imperial army, 1973

The paranormal intervention division, is a special division in each mechanised company dedicated towards the elimination of enemy combatants employing anomalous elements in ground combat, the individuals that make up a paranormal intervention division, are highly trained individuals selected from the best of the standard rifle company.

the paranormal intervention division, can trace it's history all the way back to the late 1600s, with special companies of soldiers, much like their modern counterparts being employed to take out enemy combatants using anomalous means of combat.

Ardish Marines Commando Assault Section



Details to follow.

As a last minute edit since I feel my previous edit was insufficiently child friendly, I have replaced all "firearms", "grenades", "bazookas", and "guns" of the previous squad with Hasbro, Inc. Nerf™ brand "foam dart blasters".



Unlike the modern U.S. Army, which uses Nerf™ Fortnite® "Infantry Rifle", "Demolisher", and "Durrr-Burger" Blasters for nearly all troops, the Alternates use heavily modified Nerf™ N-Strike® "Longshot CS-6", built for rapid fire and use of Ultra® darts, and the Nerf™ N-Strike® Stampede ECS instead of a single barrel Nerf™ N-Strike Elite® Rhino-Fire blaster.

Additionally, Alternate squads have Nerf™ Fortnite® "RL" firing Nerf® Elite® Missiles, and rifle NCOs have the failed Nerf™ Rival® Perses MXIX-5000 C-cell powered blaster, mated to a Nerf™ N-Strike® ThunderBlast missile blaster, with a Nerf™ Modulus® Day/Night Zoom Scope with 1-5x digital zoom, night infrared, and a laser rangefinder incorporated, requiring four AA batteries to operate. The standard disposable launcher is the classic Nerf™ N-Strike® Titan AS-V.1 Air Vessel Supplied Mega Missile Blaster.

The small arm carried by SP4 Crushel has been changed from an M1911A2 with a holographic sight to a similarly classic throwback, a Nerf™ N-Strike® REV-6 revolver, used in many cases of office room trivial harassment in our world and theirs. The APC's primary armaments have been changed from an M60E6 and twin .50 mounts to a pair of Nerf™ N-Strike® Vulcan EBF-25 blasters and a single Nerf™ N-Strike Elite® Rhino-Fire blaster.

Unlike their American counterparts, Alternate tank crews were issued Nerf™ Disc Shot blasters rather than more modern Nerf™ Elite 2.0® Phoenix CS-6 handblasters for Regular troops, or Nerf™ N-Strike Elite® Stryfe's for National Guard troops.

During the Battle of Wisconsin, the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division deployed exclusively armed with Nerf™ Ultra® 2.0 blasters, using proprietary high energy sub-caliber boattailed dart designs capable of hitting targets at nearly 300 feet distance, with about 150 feet per second exit velocity, when fired at a 40-degrees upwards angle. These new darts were able to cut through the previous series' body armors of the Alternates' and score points almost effortlessly, even when the National Guard's "Durrr-Burger" and "Demolisher" guns were ineffectual.

The community poll for the Soldierbucket infantry challenge is now open and can be found at this link. Responses will be accepted until 23:59 UTC-12, 2 January 2021. Please reward the effort each participant has made with an honest score. Responses which grant maximum scores to a select group of entries, and minimum scores to all other entries, will be deleted. Further action may be taken by the moderating team.

The community poll for the Soldierbucket infantry challenge is now closed. 34 people submitted a response before the deadline, and I wish to thank them for their time. The 19 artists who presented entries for the challenge are also deserving of praise. Without their hard work, these challenges would be lifeless. The participants have demonstrated the versatility of Soldierbucket scale. We saw infantry from a long time ago, the medieval period, the present, the distant future, and a number of other time periods in between. There were also some exceptional vehicles. Without further ado, it is time for the results.



Congratulations to Gollevainen who achieved first place with their outstanding maritime-focused Uiskomiehet. The uisko was outstanding and definitely something I did not expect to see. It is no surprise that Gollevainen also received the highest score in the drawing quality and originality categories. Second place goes to Charguizard with an infantry squad from a Batavian armoured reconnaissance company. The use of different poses added interest and variety to an already wonderful drawing. Charguizard also sits at the top of the design realism category. In third place is Miklania and their depiction of an Ardish Marines Commando Assault Section. The camouflage is a great touch.



The Iron-Clad Menace challenge is now open for those interested.