Askari Miniatures

[Darkoath]

Anyone here have any colonial mini's in their collection from Askari Miniatures?

http://www.askari-minis.com/index.html

They seem to have subject matter not covered by others but I am unsure
of the detail.  The painted figures at the website seem to have no highlights and it makes it hard to tell if they are lacking in detail.

[Will Bailie]

Hi,

I have a few of the Askari Miniatures.  The figures are nicely detailed, and cover subjects not commonly available.  On the down side, the poses are often a bit stiff and awkward looking.  For size, they tend to be a bit smaller than the big 28mm figures from companies such as Renegade and Copplestone, closer in size to Battle Honours figures.  The models are a bit less "heroic" in proportion as well, in that the heads, hands and rifles are not exagerated.

I'll see if I can post some quick snaps of them later.

Kind regards

Will

[Will Bailie]

OK, I've thrown up a few quick shots of Askari Zouaves here:

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x96/WillBailie/Miniatures/

Hope that helps!

Will

[Plynkes]

Nice one, Will. The main reservation I have had with them has been the poses, which has probably stopped me from buying any (good thing too, I've got enough damn stuff to paint). Some of them do have a rather stiff 'Toy Soldier' quality to them, don't they.

Otherwise they look pretty good, though.

[Spooner6wa]

Hey Will Bailie,

I noticed in your photo section (thanks for the size comparison photos) that the Vickers from HLBS has a white, red, white nationality markings.  Pardon my ignorance but who used that?

Thanks

[Plynkes]

Late on in the Great War the Brits used white, red and white recognition stripes on their tanks on the Western Front, so that there would be no confusion with the many captured British tanks the Germans were using by then.

Like so:


Could it be something like that?

[Westfalia Chris]

I´d think so, since I´ve seen pictures of tanks as late as early WW2 (Mathilda IIs, IIRC) which carried the triple stripe. Maybe they kept it as a recognition aid even after the immediate need was gone, and the White Russians used a similar system (with the Russian Tricolor of white, blue and red from top to bottom).

[Darkoath]

Thanks Will for posting the size comparison pictures... that helped alot!

[Will Bailie]

I've been meaning to get more photos of my WWI collection posted, especially the Battle Honours stuff, since they are relatively rare on the 'net!

Yes, the white-red-white markings on the tank are supposed to mark it as a British vehicle.  Markings and colours are assumptions on my part - I've no proof that any of those markings were ever used, and the colour is almost definitely wrong (green, as in the photo from the Australian Amour Museum at Puckapunyal, would be correct for some theatres, but unlikely on the NorthWest Frontier).

Poly, where is that tank photo from?  I think I'll try to copy that shade of brown for the NZWM Mk IV I have on my painting table!

Looking back on my comments, I may have been a bit harsh on Askari for being "stiff".  I was somewhat disappointed with the 1920s Foreign Legion, but happier with the Zouaves (even though there are only two poses for the soldats, plus the two officers, one NCO and one musician pose).  And Al, the owner, is a wonderful man to deal with, courteous and helpful, and figures are dispatched very quickly.

Will

[Plynkes]

Here's the link:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:WW1_Tank_Mark_V,_Bovington.jpg

I just typed "Mark V" into Google Images, Will, as I thought that would be the most likely tank to find in a picture with those markings. That one is at the Bovington tank museum by the looks of things. Haven't been there since I was tiny.

According to the Ospreys, brown is the correct colour for late war Brit tanks. Earlier on they tried other schemes, but after a day or so at the Front they would be totally brown from mud anyway, so later on they just painted them that colour in the first place.

[Will Bailie]

Thanks, Poly.  I painted my first MkV grey, based on something I read somewhere on the interwebthingie (or maybe that was the colour it looked on the B&W photo), but I'll see if I can match that brown for the next one.

Cheers

Will