Hi all,
Thank you very much for all the wonderful replies! I had no idea my little post would garner such a response.
Since my last post I have been doing some research into the region and time period of interest.
I think I have settled on the
Dutch East Indies during the
early 1900's - specifically, towards the end of the Aceh War (1873–1904), the occupation of Sulawesi (1905–06), and the subjugation of Bali in 1906 and 1908. In short: one of the final expansion periods of the Dutch colonial territories.
My grandfather grew up in the Indies during the 20's so the region has always been an interest of mine (plus, lots of reference images from my Great-Grandfather's personal collection
)
Thank you all so much for the miniature recommendations! I am yet to fully explore all the options you've sent through, but I can already see some winners.
Special thanks to
Diablo Jon, I'm a big fan of the Dayak warriors as a potential substitute for Acehnese warriors - great find!
I've come across both Tiger miniatures and Steve Barber models as well, although I have heard only negative reviews of the former, and the latter seem slightly off scale wise when compared to Foundry and Copplestone. I'll try to find some actual scale comparison pictures online though.
Now, onto some miniature choices/uniform design decisions I have made:
My collection will most likely be divided into 3 groups: Villagers/Citizens, Dutch colonial troops, and Acehnese warriors.
CitizensThis is my largest group thus far. I have been using Foundry and Copplestone and am waiting on some deliveries from Sally 4th (which I hope will be in the same scale..)
In addition to the image in my first post, I just finished another two characters for this group:
Acehnese TroopsOverall documentation of the period is rather.. limited. Few images exist, either in Dutch or English.
I have been able to find these reference images:
I'll probably be using these miniatures to represent the Acehnese:
https://www.eurekaminuk.com/collections/colonial/products/dayak-warrior-28mm (Thanks for the recommendation, Jon)
https://www.stevebarbermodels.com/store/Achese-Natives-Pack-1-x4-p147836008 (Thanks for the recommendation, Belgian & Marco55)
https://www.empressminiatures.com/fl4-tagalog-insurgents-with-firearms-469-p.asp (Thanks again, Jon!)
I will most likely also look into some boxer rebellion/vietnam ranger, as recommended!
Dutch Colonial TroopsThis group has been a real hassle, but I think I've figured it out.
Until 1910 Dutch troops wore the same uniforms as their European counterparts - Dark blue, Wool uniforms (poor lads..)
While a quick google search will show several pictures with the green uniform shown below, this was used afer 1910, and thus does not apply.
Instead, the Dutch would have worn a dark blue uniform with pith helmet (as far as I can tell)
Sources disagree widely on the actual colour of the uniform.. ranging from an almost black...
...to a definite blue...
... to whatever this is...
Either way, I think I will stick with the dark blue/almost black, as this is also worn in modern ceremonial versions of the original uniforms (as seen above).
A variety of pictures also show officers with white trousers, different helmets, and much more variation, but I think the bike poster is the general aim.
As such, I have decided to paint one of my Copplestone German East Africa soldiers in the Dutch colours.
I haven't found a more suitable replacement for now, and the uniforms seem relatively similar. I can always convert some later if needed.
Apologies for the weird background colours, but my camera refuses to focus on a blue/back uniform when the background is either white or black..
I think I'm rather happy with the result, which wasn't easy to achieve..
One of my earlier test models can be seen below - looked more like a police officer than anything else!
Apologies for the long post, but I thought I would give a thorough update on progress!
In short: Dutch East Indies, 1900's.
Any feedback or comments are always welcome!