(AP2017) Mnywasele, Bandit King of Unyanyembe (c.1861)

[Plynkes]

Hello there! A mite early perhaps, but I thought I'd start off my attempt by laying out some plans. I know it doesn't all really get going until August, but glacially slow painter that I am, I need all the head-start I can get.

My idea is to create a force for The Men Who Would be Kings representing the army of Mnywasele (also known as Manwa Sera or Manua Sera), one-time ntemi (or king) of Unyanyembe. Unyamyembe was one of the three major royal districts of Unyamwezi - the Land of the Moon, the great plateau that lies east of Lake Tanganyika and west of the coastal lowlands. Avid Darkest Africa aficionados will recognize Unyamwezi as birthplace of the dreaded Ruga-Ruga, those lovable hooliganish land-pirates of East Africa.

Mnywasele became ruler at a time the Swahili Arabs were expanding their business interests in the region, having founded the town of Kazeh (modern Tabora) slap bang in the middle of his territory. His predecessors had let them be, but seeing them making money hand-over-fist through the slave and ivory trades, he figured they should pay taxes like everybody else in the district.

Unsurprisingly the Arabs weren't exactly enamored of this idea, and so promptly sponsored a coup by his rival for the throne, Mkasiwa. After some fighting, Mnywasele was forced to flee and take to the bush. For the next five years he lived on the move, with a small band of loyal followers and did everything he could to regain his throne by attacking Arab caravans and bringing their trade to a standstill. He also forged alliances with neighboring tribes who also had grudges against the Arabs and they provided him with troops. Such a composite force is what I intend to build, as I think it will be quite interesting to have a wide range of different tribes in one force.


Units
The core of the force will be Mnywasele's loyal bodyguard of Nyamwezi musketeers. I haven't been able to find a picture of him, and John Speke's description of him isn't particularly useful.

"Manua Sera, I must say, was as fine a young man as ever I looked upon (Oh Jack, you devil!). He was very handsome, and looked as I now saw him the very picture of a captain of the banditti of the romances."


Sounds like quite the buccaneering fellow, so in the absence of other evidence, I think I'm justified as representing him and his bodyguard as Ruga-Ruga. They are after all, the prototypes for the ones that came later, such as Mirambo and his boys. For the man himself, I am going to use this fellow from North Star, as he does have something of the air of a pantomime pirate about him...



Interestingly, the image this figure was inspired by has come to represent the archetypal Ruga-Ruga, and yet the picture wasn't of a Nyamwezi Ruga-Ruga at all, but of a Nyasaland slaver. Thompson called him a Ruga-Ruga because he reminded him of the Nyamwezi ones, but then it went and stuck. Oh well, Ruga-Ruga is one of those words whose meaning changed over the century anyway. From rootless juvenile bandit to the gun-armed soldiers of the Nyamwezi warlords up until the colonial period when it had become a byword for any irregular native forces armed with firearms. But I digress...

The rest of the unit will be made up of Foundry and North Star Ruga Ruga, plus a few conversions of my own devising. I might have two units of these guys. Might.

Allies
1 unit of 16 Wagogo Allies (spear, shield and bow-armed tribal infantry)
1 Unit of 16 Wasakuma Allies (spear, shield, and bow-armed tribal infantry)
1 unit of 16 Warori Allies (spear, shield and musket-armed tribal infantry)

And if needed, for games with higher points values:
1 unit of 16 Watuta Allies (spear and shield-armed elite tribal infantry)
And/or
1 unit of 16 Masai Allies (spear and shield-armed elite tribal infantry)

The latter two are already taken care of painting-wise, so aren't actually part of the Army Painter thingummy.


We can have quite a bit of fun doing interesting conversions to make the Wasakuma, Wagogo and Warori. This is the part I am looking forward to the most, but we'll get more into that when the time comes. The Warori are similar enough in appearance to Wahehe that I am going to begin their unit with the Hehe I painted just for fun a couple of years ago. They aren't quite right, but they are close enough, and I think they deserve a chance at glory on the tabletop. The finished unit will then be one I can use as a proxy for both Warori and Wahehe, even though it won't be quite perfect for either.

So here we are, the first few boys of the army are already done (three years ago). A bit cheaty, but there you go. Another ten like this and the first unit will be done...



So we're off! Wish me luck.

[Dr Mathias]

Really looking forward to this one! The new Ruga-Ruga are very nice.

Having some units done isn't cheaty I'm very sure I had one unit painted years ahead of each of my Army Painter projects. The hard part was matching the painting!

[Vanvlak]

Good show with the early start. Those are magnificent, if the rest are anywhere near this'll be a spectacle to watch. 

[Lowtardog]

They are true beauties Poly looking forward to seeing the army develop

[marianas_gamer]

I am very much looking forward to this! It is great to see you taking up brush and continuing your African explorations. I have no doubt that this will prove a treat and will be all the more enjoyable for being stretched out over several months.
Lon

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Exciting news, Plynkes is going to paint something! That needs to be celebrated 

Seriously, really happy to hear you're back at the painting table, Dylan, please stay there for a while 

[Admiral Benbow]

Exciting news, Plynkes is going to paint something! That needs to be celebrated 

Seriously, really happy to hear you're back at the painting table, Dylan, please stay there for a while 

What he says! 

[Hupp n at em]

Exciting news, Plynkes is going to paint something! That needs to be celebrated 

Seriously, really happy to hear you're back at the painting table, Dylan, please stay there for a while 

Not to be a ditto, but .... ditto.  Your colonial projects are a big part of what drew me to LAF in the first place! 

[Malamute]

Yes, have to agree with the others, great to see you back at the brushes.

[Plynkes]

Let's not get carried away until I've actually done something, eh? 

Been so flipping hot here the last few days I have done precisely nothing so far, beyond contemplating my options from the comfort of the pool in my garden.*  But that is a legitimate excuse. I swear it is.






*The heat is however rather good for conjuring up an East African atmosphere. You could almost mistake the Herefordshire plains for the Savannah on a day like this. Almost.

[rumacara]

Go for it man.

[OSHIROmodels]

Looking forward to seeing this 

cheers

James

[Plynkes]

Damn, it's July already! Haven't started yet, I'm still working on the Arab army they're gonna be fighting. Yikes!

[Dr Mathias]

Damn, it's July already! Haven't started yet, I'm still working on the Arab army they're gonna be fighting. Yikes!

No worries, I'm just now getting around to sorting what I need to paint

[Plynkes]

Well, I'd like to say this whole "getting back into painting" deal was going well, but it has once again been an intense struggle, and I don't have much to show for it. I am finding it horribly difficult, and occasionally a little dispiriting, which has led to a rather paltry output. Painting has never come easy to me, but right now it just feels fucking hard, and I sometimes can't escape the feeling that I have no idea what I'm doing.   Seem to have forgotten most of what I knew, and it hasn't helped that I've had to come up with an entirely new method for painting African skin tones, as the paints I previously used have now run out or dried up, and most of them are no longer available. Sometimes it has felt like the old days, but it has mostly been some sort of torment.

But anyway that's all the feeble excuses out of the way, let's try and be positive from now on, hopefully it will get easier the more I do.

Happily, I have managed to finish off my Watuta unit. One of the allies/mercenaries of our hero. I thought I had already got enough of these but I was mistaken, and so needed to do five more.


There are a few odd colour effects in these pictures, little splashes of red that aren't there in real life. Something awry with the camera settings there.
Maybe something to do with the long exposures to get more light in due to taking these photos at night. Sorry about that. Try and ignore them. 




I do love these Copplestone sculpts, despite the wrestling matches they and I have had trying to get them to look good. I think they are some of his finest work.




A couple of spots here and there on their chests where the matt varnish is not being so matt and is catching the light on the photos.
You don't really notice it with the naked eye, but the perfectionist in me might go back with the brush-on matt and just fix that up. Might.





The finished 16-man unit for The Men Who Would Be Kings. I think the new guys blend in quite well with the old, despite the new African painting regimen. I don't think you can see the join. Thought I would be done with these guys but since planning this army I have tried out TSATF, which is making me think I should just do four more of these guys, so they can be a 20-man TSATF unit as well.
It's only four more...



Just to finish off, a couple more fellows. An Arab and a Baluchi. They aren't part of this army, but they are part of the same project. They will be the enemy. These were the first figures that I painted when I came back to the desk. Just a couple of guys to get back into the swing of things. Might as well show them here. Good a place as any...


Not really super-pleased with them, but they aren't bad for a first effort. They'll do.

Well, that's things under way. Hopefully I can get fully into gear and get things rolling a bit faster soon. Ta-ta!