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Greetings gentlemen,
it's been a while since I started a threat here in the LAF but currently I have a project running which I found appropriate to be presented here: The North West Frontier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_the_North-West_Frontier)
Actually it's all about the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War) which was fought between 1878 and 1880. Actually I cannot recall what really drove myself into this project and towards this theatre of war but somehow my friend Michael (aka. Admiral Benbow) gave me the determining poke. When I found my penchant for historical wargaming I started with Napoleonics but sooner or later I put put my feelers for other interesting topics. Thus the different utterly nice ranges about British colonials in the 1880s caught my attention. Namely the Mahdist Revolt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdist_War) of 1881 and the following years. Without any doubt I was influenced by Basil Dearden's epic movie Khartoum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khartoum_(film)) but soon I realised that too many of my club fellows had fallen to this conflict before. Actually it seemed that we had enough Camel Corps and Naval Brigade troops in our collection to revive El-Teb nearly 1:1...
This was the very moment Admiral Benbow entered the stage. He and I chatted about the colonial progress of the late 19th century and inevitably reached the Great Game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game). The more we digged into this hobby horse of his the more it caught my interest. Finally I was fascinated by the mixed bags of troops the British brought into Afghanistan during the 1870s and 1880s. Needless to say that certain pieces of cineastic goodness (The Northwest Frontier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_West_Frontier_(film)), The far Pavilions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Far_Pavilions) &c.) fueled my interest...
Anyway finally I ended up with plans to muster troops in uncertain number to recreate this conflict...
Here I want to present my humble collection and deliver some side notes about books and other sources. I hope you'll enjoy this look onto my workbench and into my bookshelf.
Cheers
Stefan
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To get into a theme it's always helpful for me to start painting some figures. Thus I wanted to have a rather generic unit for the NWF. In those days - back in 2014 actually - there weren't too many ranges usable for the 2nd Afghan War. Most of the figures didn't were the iconic puttees or didn't have the correct headgear. After some conversation with Ethan (aka. Mad Guru) who is a tremendously well-read and utterly nice fellow I decided to give Michael Perry's British Infantry in Indian Service Dress (https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_35_49&products_id=2383) a go. As usual for Michael's work the figures are a feast for the eyes concerning the details and the anatomic accuracy. And luckily they wore the correct dress for at least a couple of British units during the certain conflict.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KqNkfCcpDs/VNaPo4WoPRI/AAAAAAABFVc/OA0tKPd5Bbk/s1600/Brit_NWF_01.JPG)
Here I went for a 12 men unit since I've been aiming at skirmish level games. Nevertheless I bought four packs of the chaps to form two units. More on the remaining dozen later. For the colour scheme I relied on advice of painting expert Mark Hargreaves (aks. Over open Sights) who gave me kind and preceless hints. Mostly I went for Vallejo Model Colors and a scheme based on Green Brown.
Now after two-and-a-half years I'm still satisfied with those fellows. They were my very first figures for this theatre of war and they hopefully will serve well for Her Majesty.
Cheers
Stefan
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:) way cool !
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They look great Stefan 8)
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They look great Stefan 8)
Many thanks, Richard. Just my humble start. More to come... ;)
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Very nice indeed! Can't wait to see more of your Second Afghan War collection! Very kind of you to mention me, Stefan -- I remember your message, I think via email, and very happy to hear my reply was of some use.
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They look great! :-*
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Well... To go deeper into the NWF theme I started to discover some sources. As we all stroll around the internet four hours and hours a good start are online sources. Thus let me mention a blog dedicated to the battle of Maiwand and a priceless source of inspiration:
Maiwand Day (http://maiwandday.blogspot.de/) by Ethan "Mad Guru"
Actually I stumpled over Michael Davis' blog first but I wasn't able to find it years after it was so helpful for me. A shame! Please add the link in a reply if possible! --- see Edit below ---
Another good start are of course the Osprey books we all appreciate for their coulor plates which are so helpful for us painters:
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LsDMOTb1pkc/WZiA5KxwGeI/AAAAAAAAFjI/9nvWcPyUiusyIaYnCshKsh7k5prTXDNrQCLcBGAs/s1600/NWF_Sources_001.JPG)
Unfortunately there's no Osprey book about the 2nd Afghan War but all those four books cover the 1880s more or less. Thus they prooved utterly helpful for my issue.
But to go deeper into the political and military background and to get an idea of the NWF 140 years ago I needed more literature:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q_wZNTgoFAM/WZiI7MRUCNI/AAAAAAAAFjk/_2TlSorY-wUTDFh79-VAU_Baq_aJhPnWACLcBGAs/s1600/NWF_Sources_002.JPG)
Michael Barthorp is an expert of the colonial history of the Indian subcontinent and especially of the events in 1878 - 1880. His work is kind of standard reference and I cannot recommend it enough.
Likewise the book by Leigh Maxwell is a good read and covers the events to lead to the historic defeat at Maiwand very detailed and based on a lot of primary sources.
Since the late 18th century was a time when photography became more and more widespread, there a many pictures taken during those years in India. The third book on the pictures bears a lot of these photos and give some interesting views. Unfortunately the book is a bit oldish and the reproduction quality is not as good as it could be nowadays. But for £5 it was a real bargain.
In case that you're interested in terrain building then let me mention another collection of photagraphs. It's called "From Kashmir to Kabul" and provides excellent reproductions of contemporary pictures. Since I gave my copy to a friend I only have a internet picture of the cover to show:
(http://www.kashmirtokabul.com/gif/cover9.jpg)
If that's not enough now I can recommend to have a look at certain portals for public domain sources. Especially archive.org and Project Gutenberg keep publishing digitalisations of works that lost copyright due to the author's death more than 70 years ago. For us these sites are bearing a lot of first person accounts on the ongoings of the war.
Some examples:
Howard Hensman, The Afghan War of 1879–80, 1881: Direct link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.527322)
Peter S. Lumsden and George R. Elsmie, Lumsden of the Guides, 1899: Direct link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.209353)
Hippisley Cunliffe Marsh, A Ride Through Islam, 1877: Direct link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.31958)
C.E. Yate, Northern Afghanistan, 1888: Direct link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.501707)
J. Percy Groves, The 66th Berkshire Regiment, 1887: Direct link (https://archive.org/details/thberkshireregi00unkngoog)
Walter Ashe, Personal Records of the Kandahar Campaign by Officers Engaged Therein, 1881: Direct Link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.180835)
Joshua Duke, Recollections of the Kabul Campaign, 1879 & 1880, 1883: Direct Link (https://archive.org/details/recollectionska00dukegoog)
J.A.S. Colquhoun, With the Kurram Field Force, 1878–79, 1881: Direct Link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.180777)
Charles Gray Robertson, Kurum, Kabul and Kandahar, 1881: Direct Link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.285047)
Frederik S. Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Forty-One Years in India, 1897: Direct Link (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.79766)
Most books are provided in various formats making them readable on the computer in good pdf quality or on ebook readers as epub. Some are difficult to read on ebook readers because the digitalisation seems to be rather simple. Thus the footnotes got mixed up with the actual text which makes it difficult to follow from time to time.
Anyway last but not least a source for pictures: Phototheca Afghanica (https://www.phototheca-afghanica.ch/index.php?id=111&L=3)
It provides a lot of pictures from the 19th and early 20th century. Just take the time to stroll around a bit. Especially the album with the pictures of the Royal Engineers Museum is worth a look.
Well... Then that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this look behind my research for the project and maybe find an idea to go deeper into NWF.
Cheers
Stefan
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Mad Guru thankfully delivered the name of the blog I wasn't able to recall. It's "Horse and Musket" by Michael "Reggie" Davis. Excellent that this source is rediscovered! I only found my email-conversion with Michael but wasn't able to remember his alias and the blog: Link to Horse and Musket (http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.de/l) and a direct link to his 2nd Afghan War section (http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.de/search/label/Second%20Afghan%20War)
Many thanks, Ethan!
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Stefan,
The link to my own site aside, THANK YOU for providing a valuable service for those of us interested in late 19th Century NWF in general and the Second Afghan War in particular, by putting all the above links together in one place!
I'm happy to be of a little more service by providing you a LINK to the blog of my friend Michael "Reggie" Davis, who I far too seldomly play tabletop wargames with -- but every time we manage to get together it's always a great game and a lot of fun for everyone involved, be they victorious or defeated:
http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.com (http://horseandmusket2.blogspot.com)
Michael has beautiful colonial armies, but they're only one small part of his vast, historically wide-ranging collection, that covers almost everything from WOR to Early WWII, with emphasis on various Horse-&-Musket armies.
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Many thanks, Ethan!
Indeed I remembered a lot of Michael's great contributions on his blog but wasn't able to recall the name... :?
I added the link to my post above.
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Great start so far - will be following closely.
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Monty, That's a great start sir! Those figs look awesome. There's nothing like jumping into a new period with both feet. There are loads of good people here willing to share their research with you. The 2nd Afghan War is one of my favorite periods. I too find inspiration from Mad Guru and his amazing blog and have nothing more I can add to that other than pics of some of my games, terrain, and figs on my blog.
I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this project and more painted figs!
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Really a feast for the eyes!
I wish you good luck for your project, I'll be following this thread!
Thanks for sharing!
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Excellent
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Michael Barthorp's 'The North West Frontier' is indeed a treasure, but, my good, the lack of a good editor at it's conception hits you straight in the face.
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Thanks for your kind replies, gentlemen. I'm back from our one week holiday by the sea. Thus it's time for an update. :)
Well, until now I presented my very first beginnings with NWF and my collection of sources. But of course the project went on. Last year in April I spent a wonderful weekend of wargaming goodness at a friend's place near Stuttgart. We met there with a couple of fellows to spent a weekend with chatting, painting and gaming. However in this sublime bunch of fellows I started to paint the second British unit:
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ig3p3y3lSH4/TR19dacPqLI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/SznVJbouWfU/s320/IMG_6638.jpg)
72nd Regiment of Foot
The Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders
The regiment was raised in the Western highlands by Kenneth Mackenzie in 1778. It found service on the Indian subcontinent for most of its time. Especially during the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Mysore Wars in late 18th Century. During the Napoleonic Wars the 72nd fought in Ceylon and South Africa. Then they were renamed "The Duke of Albany's Own".
In the Victorian Era the regiment saw service in Africa, Gibraltar, Barbados, the Crimea, India and Afghanistan. During the Cardwell and Childers Reforms the regiment was restructured and finally amalgamated with the 78th Highlanders to form the Seaford Highlanders (link to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72nd_Regiment,_Duke_of_Albany%27s_Own_Highlanders)).
This regiment caught my eye because of it's colourful appearance. I found the picture above in the Osprey book about the British Army on campaign and loved it at first sight. The combination of Indian Service Dress and the Tartan Trews were simply to unique for me to be ignored. Thus I gave them a reappearance in 38mm:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OnHphTLCqQI/V1cOs2rpChI/AAAAAAAAE5E/3MT01FBrqcMEnuAq0HrpBiLyosCMjjW4wCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_15.JPG)
The figures are from Perry Miniatures' excellent Sudan range. They represent British troops in Indian Service Dress which are utterly perfect for this very regiment.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9EHkIEfNF7w/Vz1DLzx_1UI/AAAAAAAAE3A/m8YORokB2Xk-NB95DayUCGzJSMNnsmaMQCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_07.JPG)
Most interesting part of these uniforms are of course the trews. As far as I know the 72nd was the only regiment wearing tartan trews and tartan puttees and thus the greatest challenge was to create an idea of the traditional pattern on those miniatures. Although I wasn't able to recreate the tartan right down to the last detail I'm really satisfied with the overall impression. Especially from two feet gaming distance...
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LzsFtjtTEg4/V1cOs58RBgI/AAAAAAAAE48/h6B5JpnOin4XF_hC-Fnqpri5pB_YD3MhACLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_14.JPG)
On some of the figures I changed the style of painting the covered helmet slightly. While I didn't do anything but drybrushing on the first figures I tried to outline the segments of the helmet under the cover more on the later figures. Although I know it was covered and probably the segments didn't show through too much I prefer the more detailed look. Let's call it artistic freedom.
As usual I employed mostly Vallejo Model Colors and Vallejo Game Colors. The uniform itself - meaning helmet cover and jacket in this case - is based on VGC 'Khaki', VMC 'Iraqui Sand' and VMC 'Pale Sand'.
For the trews I painted a base colour of VMC 'Hull Red', VMC 'Crimson Red' and VMC 'Vermillion'. Above that dark chequers of VMC 'Hull Red' with thin lines of VMC 'Buff' and VMC 'Pastel Blue'.
Even with a year distance I'm still more than satisfied with the result. Surely some of you artists out there would be able to paint the tartan more accurate but yours truly knows the limitations of his skills.
Cheers
Stefan
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Wonderful work,
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Super work on the tartan Stefan. They look really great :-*
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Your work on the tartans is super! And the face expressions :-*
A neat top-notch painting! Bravo!
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Excellent! Here is another illustration depicting the regiment in Afghanistan:
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Beautifully done! :-*
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Many thanks for your kind replies and especially to Andrei for the picture!
Cheers
Stefan
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Lovely job! Very striking unit to have in one's force.
While that picture Andrei posted shows them all in jolly tartan puttees, an actual photo from the time has only the officers wearing them, the men are wearing their trews loose with no puttees or gaiters. But I guess that doesn't prove that they didn't have them, it only proves they weren't wearing them when that photo was taken. :)
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Lovely brushwork. ;D
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I agree that there are such options for reconstruction without windings:
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Outstanding painting.
Got to love the 72nd. :-*
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Lovely figures. :)
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Superb trews!!
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Beautiful work! Indeed, my own favorite British regiment of the Second Afghan War, and one of the finest looking units in the field in all of Victorian military history... at least IMHO! Once again, great job, Stefan!
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Many thanks for your encouraging feedback. The unfortunate 66th will come next.
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Last spring Perry Miniatures started their new Victoria's Little Wars Range (https://www.perry-miniatures.com/index.php?cPath=23_96&osCsid=qvfutdb5dov8navg4keikd2r80) with a new set of plastics: British Infantry 1877-1885. These figures are appropriate for the 2nd Afghan War as well as the Mhadist revolt in the Sudan a couple of years later. Thus these small fellows seemed utterly perfect for my project since there haven't been too many alternatives on the marked and I love the Perry sculpts for their excellent anatomy.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oi9qs9YUN0c/V62z1EzzA1I/AAAAAAAAE_U/OJX0Kujx0yAG6oMt4jJ0nVZ_plK3pMc8QCLcB/s1600/Cover-Art.jpg)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ih8PvpwCzu8/V5-acdiwQAI/AAAAAAAAE_A/wi8HDcy0dcAzyICBHMG5OgIlZXdmN4s2gCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_18a.JPG)
Undoubtlesly the battle of Maiwand was one of the most famous - if not THE most famous - engagement of the 2nd Afghan War. Thus a delegation of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment seemed mandatory for my collection. As The Men who would be Kings (https://ospreypublishing.com/the-men-who-would-be-kings) works with rather small units I opted for a twelve men unit to start with. Although there have been a some discussions which colour the puttees of the 66th were I decieded to go for the option mentioned in the painting guide: Navy blue puttees for the whole unit. Imho this seemed reasonable and I wanted the unit to stand out on the battlefield.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0tnCjyFdAYM/WAZ4BK2_OkI/AAAAAAAAFHw/5AzIWi3LOgUfPCYUn2WrrrzNKiTcv0r_wCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_23.JPG)
After all the figures were wonderful to work with. As usual for Michael's and Alan's work the figures are well detailed and full of live. All the figures share the P1870 Valise equipment, the puttees and the Martini Henry rifle. All iconic pieces shown in the British campaigns at the North West Frontier during the 1870s and early 80s as well as in the Sudan shortly afterwards. To suit both campaigns there are two sets heads included. One set with a puggree as worn in the Sudan and one set with a helmet cover as worn during the 2nd Anlgo-Afghan War. This makes the set rather useful for most colonial enthusiasts but makes them useless for the British campaign in Zulu land. However luckily Michael released another set of plastics for that theatre of war lately.
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ywvR__VqWbk/V5-VBRM3NYI/AAAAAAAAE-g/Xhtum7PHAIMQXf0PkEiTZLLAg8NS8mgLgCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_18.JPG)
As usual I employed Vallejo colours for the uniform and the Foundry skin set for the face and hands. For the tunics I used the same palette based on VGC "Khaki" as for the 72nd Highlanders earlier. For the puttees I used Vallejo Model Color 'Dark Prussian Blue' and 'Prussian Blue'.
My only worry is that the box contains only two ensigns. Since during the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War the colours were still taken onto the battlefield it becomes a problem for small unit fans like me to find enough ensigns to give two of them to each unit. Luckily in the past the Perrys made command sprues from there plastic boxes available individually. I hope they'll take that step with this box as well. Luckily I was able to lay my hands on one the 28mm incarnation of 2nd Lieutenant Walter Rice Olivey. He was one of the ensigns bearing the colours of the 66th during the battle of Maywand - namely the Queen's Colours - and died with the Colours in his hands. Let me quote Col. Mike Snooke's from 'Into the Jaws of Death' narrative of the situation:
By now 2nd Lieutenant Walter Olivey had also been hit and seriously wounded.
He was observed with a handkerchief wrapped around a nasty head wound,
but when somebody tried to relieve him of the Queen’s Colour so that he could go
to the rear he refused point-blank to leave his post.
'Into the Jaws of Death' by Col. Mike Snooke
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H7xpY1KyFmA/WAZ8-n75rKI/AAAAAAAAFIA/I4AFkeacAYMGHDiY9T6-LXRUdkny6B8zQCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_26.JPG)
The author refers to a contemporary account given by Lieutenant Manus L. O'Donel (http://maiwandjournal.victorianwars.com/an_account_of_maiwand.htm) which is available on the excellent homepage of the 'Maiwand Journal' (http://maiwandjournal.victorianwars.com/contents.htm) a homepage or project dedicated to the name giving battle. Well-known experts and authors about this topic are presenting parts of their research there.
By the way Col. Snooke's book is a piece of literature that I cannot recommend enough. He covers a couple of British military blunders of the high Victorian Age from 1879 - 1900. His presentation of well researched facts and his casual narrative style are as informative as captivating.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YP0bRShe9oY/WAaEWzTQG_I/AAAAAAAAFIQ/6l2A-9hAO04aLme8Vkue-5647vjlGUedQCLcB/s1600/Brit_NWF_29.JPG)
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Gorgeous looking figures
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Great work! It looks great! There is a question on the blue windings, I still think that this is the privilege of officers. :-*
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Who cares what the button counters say about who wore what the figures look superb ;D
Lovely brushwork :-*
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Nothing wrong with being a button-counter, as long as you aren't an arse about it. Facts are good. ;)
They look amazing, Monty!
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Astonishingly beautiful! Really great job!
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Very nicely done Stefan :)
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Thank you all for this marvellous information ! In two days we leave for a two weeks holidays and Michael Barthorp plus some downloaded books from the list of contemporary soldiers has added to my reading list.
This site really is a treasure trove !
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Beautiful work! :-*
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Those are jolly nice
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Absolutely beautiful work on a great and as mentioned very useful set of figures!
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Nicely done on the khaki uniforms.
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Superb.....simply stunning work! :-*
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Many thanks for your kind comments! :)
Currently I'm working on a unit of Sikhs. Update will follow soon.
But does anyone know which tartan the Indian bagpipe were made of? Especially these of Rattray's Sikhs...
Cheers
Stefan
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My friend, I'm not at all sure what to do. Do a better musician with a horn.
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My apologies that I disregarded this threat slightly during the last weeks but I was busy with preparing the last bits and pieces for CRISIS and didn't manage to take pictures. Anyway the Sikh regiment is finished but first for some terrain. Since we need a lot of rocky terrain I wanted to contribute at least one piece to our game and gave the same technique a try that Admiral Benbow presented in his sublime threat here (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=104810.0). Thus I made a basic framework of hard foam and glued numerous pieces of bark on it. Afterwards I covered it with some filler as well as gravel and sand.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U-UjCsIqpUg/WfkAJvY1iaI/AAAAAAAAFkE/cRs-mx8DKfM7YorqM-cAjammFX2Af4vrwCLcBGAs/s320/NWF_Terrain_001.JPG)
Then I painted most areas ochre brownish and the rocks in greyish white colours. Actually to match Michael's colour palette more or less but until now we haven't had our pieces side by side.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d-CHuMjK9Us/WfkAJ7mfEZI/AAAAAAAAFkI/ylT90mlMp-Mo7JKB3zXxDotAzp76gTc0ACLcBGAs/s320/NWF_Terrain_002.JPG)
Tomorrow I'll try to arrange a little photo session to get pictures of the figures I finished lately. At least there are those twelve Sikhs, a 9pdr Royal Horse Artillery gun and a heliograph team. They'll all see action at CRISIS but I hope to be able to show them here before. However here's a small preview:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-__-sTc0hIik/WfkALjDMGyI/AAAAAAAAFkM/rHk5JEi5YGoWtlmBGFl8roKta8NXDvfMwCLcBGAs/s320/Brit_NWF_30.jpg)
Cheers
Stefan
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Monty,
Sorry I missed your question re: Sikh bagpipe patterns last month.
I am not at all an expert, but I know several different Indian regiments used solid colors and in the case of the 40th Pathans, a tribal pattern, for the fabric of their pipebags.
However, with respect to the 45th Rattray's Sikhs... there is another possibility.
Captain Thomas Rattray, who founded the unit, was from a Scottish family, and there is a Rattray tartan, and as recently as 2006 there was still an ongoing relationship between the multi-battalion Sikh regiment in the modern Indian Army (the 3rd battalion of which traces its lineage back to 45th Rattray's Sikhs) and the Rattray Clan in Scotland, where representatives from that same Sikh regiment attend the International Clan Rattray Gathering every 4 years. So... you could perhaps go with the Rattray tartan, as pictured here:
(http://www.scotclans.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/rattray_mod_480.png)
Another way to go would be to post the question over on the Victorian Wars Forum, where someone will probably have a more definitive answer:
http://victorianwars.com (http://victorianwars.com)
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Splendid stuff. ;D
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The rocks rock! Cheers!
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Captain Thomas Rattray, who founded the unit, was from a Scottish family, and there is a Rattray tartan, and as recently as 2006 there was still an ongoing relationship between the multi-battalion Sikh regiment in the modern Indian Army (the 3rd battalion of which traces its lineage back to 45th Rattray's Sikhs) and the Rattray Clan in Scotland, where representatives from that same Sikh regiment attend the International Clan Rattray Gathering every 4 years. So... you could perhaps go with the Rattray tartan.
Thanks for the hint, Ethan. Your explanation sounds more than reasonable but unfortunately it came too late. As you'll see later I've already painted the bagpipe straight blue. Anyway I might rework that but not before Crisis... ;)
Saying Crisis yesterday I previewed the Royal Horse Artillery 9pdr gun. A wonderful set from Perry Miniatures that is part of Michael's wonderful "Victoria's little Wars" range. The gun comes with four crewmen which are in firing position. Here are the miniatures with a few splashes of Vallejo and Foundry paints:
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s2gxPkFvL2s/WfnpVR6xx_I/AAAAAAAAFk8/mD3D_HKBjMkUWtNhKOWMhflFn39IO9VEwCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_40.JPG)
As you see I based the gun with one of the gunners. That seems a bit special but I wanted the fellow pulling the release cord firmly connected to the artillery pieces because I was afraid that the cord might break off after several transports. On the other hand I wanted to be able to place the gun in skirmish manner in small areas or within (rocky) terrain pieces. Thus the remaining three crew members are based on very small coins. Only 18mm in diametre.
9pdr in action again:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9mwwC7HuPq0/WfnpVNrCZWI/AAAAAAAAFlA/M84CWM6cUXAt1Nk77Cc5jE1IAaBJLuh8wCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_39.JPG)
Well... That's it for now. I'll try to bring some pictures of my heliograph team or the Sikhs before Crisis but cannot promise that I'll be able to. Otherwise next week...
Cheers
Stefan
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Congratulations, very good work! Bravo!
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Very nice indeed ;D
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Looking forward to seeing this at Crisis!
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I also made my artilleryman on the same pedestal with a gun:
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Thanks a lot for your kind feedback, fellows!
Looking forward to seeing this at Crisis!
Looking forward to meeting you again there, mate! :)
I also made my artilleryman on the same pedestal with a gun:
Good job, Andrei. And very clever basing indeed. ;)
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Lovely work! :-*
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Hello and good morning,
horrified I realised that I haven't posted any progress on my NWF project for more than two years. Although I didn't create any large amounts of troops I should at least complete this album with my humble results.
Heliograph Team
As well as in the Sudan and in Zulu land the British deployed Heliograph teams in Afghanistan to maintain a certain amount of communication. To have a team different from the excellent Sudan models by Perry Miniartures I built up some chaps from a combination of the NWF plastics and the Zulu British plastics by the same company.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I1Jn4Wzh3bg/WfnpWBo_DWI/AAAAAAAAFlI/eFtkEFBP52wDRbTkwWysXJaAzMhQrOLBwCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_42.JPG)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KR3W7Fv14Ro/WfnpWOVxxcI/AAAAAAAAFlM/51I19NZTJl4TrhnCZI4WXAd0BywEGkFiQCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_43.JPG)
During the next weeks some pictures of more Indian troops will follow. As well as some Afghans and maybe a couple of British lancers. We'll see...
Cheers
Stefan
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Lovely job Stefan, well done :-*
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Great work, glad you got back to it 8)
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Excellent brushwork and very creative to boot Stefan :-* :-* :-*
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Thanks for your kind feedback, chaps!
Step by step there'll come some more updates then.
At Tactica 2018 some fellows and me presented a participation game featuring the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War. To decorate the battlefield we wanted some vignettes which lead me to this humble piece. Since I've already added a detachment of the 66th Regiment of Foot (the unlucky Berkshire regiment) it was a no-brainer that I had to add one of the most famous medic in English literature. In the introduction of 'A Study in Scarlet' Conan Doyle mentions that his narrator, Dr John H. Watson served with the 66th in Afghanistan and was wounded during the battle of Maiwand.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JA2mMCJP5qU/XCjmP-DqRRI/AAAAAAAAFzo/xFoNupKrXYEcwMXEWtiuzY-1VhKHrlXowCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_46.JPG)
The vignette is based on the excellent hospital set which Perry Miniatures have in their Sudan range. After consulting a couple of reference books and an interesting conversation with sculptor Michael Perry who is very studied regarding the mentioned conflict I realized that the only real hindrance might be the helmets and the characteristic puggree. Luckily in their NWF plastic set there is an officer’s head with a cap bearing a 66 (for the 66th Regiment) which I put on Watson’s body after removing the given pit helmet. Although the neck looks a bit strange I’m rather satisfied with my humble conversion work.
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJXNarQLpMg/XCjmk3CAjBI/AAAAAAAAFz0/0eN6F4Yt96I70kjEUj06jzpbD6odbdlNgCLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_48.JPG)
The stretcher bearer who's standing by had the puggree just grinded away slightly. Then I painted it khaki to resemble the helmets with the iconic covers.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BgW3Z7RdHZ8/XCjmuNdn0BI/AAAAAAAAFz8/zyB5KZA7u1kgi2rok_jfr0xHRsl31IH-ACLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_50.JPG)
As usual I employed mostly Vallejo Model colours as well as the splendid set of skin colours Wargames Foundry is offering. Finally I added a coat of matt varnish and a couple of grass tufts and a couple of pieces of clump foliage.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWWymuL5pQw/XCjm27Oy7FI/AAAAAAAAF0E/ZZYbZAKkZfE42fAZMQuWmEJiqrlCpMYHACLcBGAs/s1600/Brit_NWF_49.JPG)
Cheers
Stefan
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That's superb, Stefan. Always like to see people making conversions and putting their own personal stamp on their collections. :)
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Excellent 8)
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Excellent Stefan :-*
All those little details make the world of difference in a game 8)
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Lovely work.
Thanks fro sharing.
Cheers
JJ
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Brilliant work ;D
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Cracking background to you figures as well :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
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That's a great little vignette beautifully painted. I love making vignettes for my projects they are always a nice break from painting the rank and file of an army and give you a chance to get a bit creative.
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Many thanks for your kind feedback!
It was indeed great fun to make something decorative. Since I have the remains of the hospital set and some other wounded and medics there's more to come I presume. ;)
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Great brushwork Stephan, and the comments regarding personalization of your collection are spot on!
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This time a very short update only...
A couple of years ago Iron Duke released some wonderful sets with camels, elephants, pieces of load and other useful bits and pieces to bring a table to life. Thus on Tactica I bought a couple of these camels from Empress and they've been lying on the lead pile for a while now. Finally last week I found the time to paint them:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-83SRZgVpQ7o/X3SDDz6V4fI/AAAAAAAAHFE/L-HWhG0jGT4rdZXVii_uPaeeQ90TGMKOgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h211/1601471241472471-0.png)
The figures are of excellent quality. The sculpts and nice and detailed and the casting is superb. Literally I didn't have to clean any flash.
This time I combined Citadel Contrast Paints for the basic fur colour and the red blanket and Vallejo Model Colors for the other parts and the highlights. Afterall I'm pretty happy with my first camels. Later there's loaf to come and maybe more camels for the Camel Korps as part of the Gordon release expedition. We'll see...
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Brilliant work! Just what I need, another theater!
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From the very beginning of my NWF efforts a painting by Orlando Norie kept fascinating me:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zTXzdWQu9xc/X5XQfKLOX5I/AAAAAAAAHfI/DFDw6_pnwEAGapa8XGo4wWaB5JkGA715QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h453/9th_Lancers_Kandahar_1880.jpg)
Thus acutally since 2015 I've been pondering about painting a unit of lancers to represent those brave men. To be honest those figures have been lying on my lead pile for a while but during the last weeks I finally took the time to finish the horeses (they've been primed ages ago...) and to paint the riders. All in all I aimed for a twelve men unit to have them ready for any rule set from 'The Men who would be Kings' to 'Blackpowder':
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J94hGF6CNjE/X5XR10_xIwI/AAAAAAAAHfU/6NYc6Dm_bvsxlNXxXneZXW3V5Fzsw7WhwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h400/Brit_NWF_53.JPG)
The miniatures themselves are from Perry Miniatures' sublime Sudan range. Actually they represent the 10th Hussars fighting against the Mahdi rebellion with improvised lances to catch prone enemies. After I compared them to Norie's painting I came to the conclusion that they should serve rather well. There are a couple of small inaccuracies: The blanket on the back of the saddle is missing, the 9th lancers on the painting appear to carry an Indian style water bottle, it's not clear whether there are pugrees on the painting. Anyway I was ready to accept those minor flaws. Especially since I didn't find any better models.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sd89V8SNomY/X5XVJNeV-DI/AAAAAAAAHfg/NEy5NC7om_8XMqenpIS873mNl2yfyaSZgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h229/Brit_NWF_54.JPG)
There are several photographs of 9th lancers during their tour of duty in 1880. On these the fellows show a variety of clothing: home service pieces, padded winter jackets, khaki jackets etc. After some pondering I decided to paint the unit uniformly in khaki jackets and blue home service trousers.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bjR96ScN14Y/X5XWPTcs33I/AAAAAAAAHfo/ehUrCfsHm8sEXKsIJ7zMBX5GVjf5T9nfgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h231/Brit_NWF_55.JPG)
For painting the figures I employed my trousted Vallejo paints. The khaki sheme is bases on VGC 'Khaki' while most other paints where from the Vallejo Model Color range. For the first time I didn't employ Wargames Foundry's skin colour sextette but Citadel's contrast paint 'Darkoath Flesh'. I'm really pleased with the result. Especially because it safes loads of time. It's just one layer. No more no less. With the Foundry colours I painted fours to six layers to build up shades, highlights etc.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-afQnLoAT8Z8/X5XX3sUXdhI/AAAAAAAAHf0/evYutHEPfv4KmMCi2894Clba9jON7qn3wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h254/Brit_NWF_56.JPG)
For the lances I decided to use steel pikes rather than the delivered lead ones. My experience showed that the latter tend to bent and never get straight again. Although those don't represent the bamboo lances used at that time perfectly I appreciate their durability. The pennants are self-made. I cut them from common printer paper and apprlied super glue to give them a plastic like stiffness. Finally painted them red over white.
To pretect the models I applied a couple of layers of gloss and flat varnish by airbrush.
That's it for now. Soon there is more NWF stuff to follow but not now. I hope you like them. Please feel free to leave a comment here or on my blog: Here (https://montys-caravan.blogspot.com/2020/10/9th-lancers-to-kandahar.html).
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Beautiful :-*
Well done Stefan.
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They look lovely Stephan :-* :-* :-*
I just popped briefly over to your very interesting blog so say "Hi" to another follower :). Whatever did happen to Blogger sending notices out for updates?
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Lovely lancers there. Makes me want to dig out my old Sudan collection lol
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Top notch work sir well done.
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Great job, Monty/Stephan! I know -- and like -- that painting also, and love that you used its color scheme for their khaki over blue "transitional" uniforms. I plan to do the same, using slightly different figures: the Perry Sudan 19th Hussars with improvised lances instead of the 10th Hussars, since I already have a sword-armed unit of those same Perry 10th Hussars in my Second Afghan War army. My figures have been sitting around for a while also. I'm hoping the impressive sight of yours will push me to get them painted!
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Excellent work they look the biz :)
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Great thread! Beautiful painting! :-*
One never tires looking at those wonderful Perry sculpts getting a super paint job!
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Beautiful brushwork Monty!!!!!
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What a thread so far! :-*
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Thanks for your kind feedback, gentlemen!
Indeed during the last months NWF was very present on my painting table. Hopefully there'll soon some new things to be presented. ;)
Great job, Monty/Stephan! I know -- and like -- that painting also, and love that you used its color scheme for their khaki over blue "transitional" uniforms. I plan to do the same, using slightly different figures: the Perry Sudan 19th Hussars with improvised lances instead of the 10th Hussars, since I already have a sword-armed unit of those same Perry 10th Hussars in my Second Afghan War army. My figures have been sitting around for a while also. I'm hoping the impressive sight of yours will push me to get them painted!
As a well-known NWF expert your feedback is highly appreciated, Ethan. Thus many, many thanks for your kind words. The 19th hussars should do very fine as well. The only reason why they were second best to me were the spikes on the helmets which appear in Norie's painting so that I wanted to have them on my figures as well.