A 'Heart of Darkness' Belgian Company published

[Maldred]

So here are my thoughts so far .... I think I can safely say these guys aren't heroes ....

Your thoughts and suggestions, as always, appreciated.

[Bullshott]

Nice list.

Personally, I would make the following changes to the list:

Change the Askari to military rifle & fighting knife, with option to replace knife with either machete(sword) OR bayonet (in which cas thet can buy bayonet fighting talent)

The Expendables would be recruited from tribes, so replace club with spear and shield

[lou passejaire]

i'm not a great fan of askaris with bayonet fighting talent .
from the account of  officers , native troops were reluctant to use bayonet and less efficient  . and were good quality assault troops with the machete . ( so , i will chose sword and rifle , or bayonet without the fighting talent , but it's my point of vue ) 

[Maldred]

Thanks for your thoughts ..

Change the Askari to military rifle & fighting knife, with option to replace knife with either machete(sword) OR bayonet (in which case they can buy bayonet fighting talent)
The Expendables would be recruited from tribes, so replace club with spear and shield

i'm not a great fan of askaris with bayonet fighting talent from the account of  officers, native troops were reluctant to use bayonet and less efficient and were good quality assault troops with the machete.

For this company I decided to emphasise the bigotry, immorality and cowardice shown by the dregs of Europe .... to reflect this the natives are under trained and expendable to their leaders. sadly that means I can't use the rifle & bayonet equipped Askari figures produced by Wargames Foundry - perhaps if someone publishes stats for 'proper' Prussian trained Askari?
The Expendable Natives in this force are closer to being conscript labour rather than cannibal warriors, for the latter Spear & Shield make sense but for the former clubs are all that is available.
Similarly the witchdoctor & congo leopardmen would belong to a force that places a higher value on the skills of the natives, a company that is more heroic than mine :-)

[Cubs]

Tintin.

Probably the world's most famous Belgian.

Charlemagne?

[Maldred]

5 pages long so attached as a .pdf

In summary;
A typical Force Publique patrol consists of: 1 Captain, 1 Sergeant, 1 Supernumerary, 3 Askari & 8 Natives and is most often sent on a revenue collecting mission.

Force Publique Officers & NCOs Are the dregs drawn from Europe's military, mostly cowardly and bigoted with weak leadership skills.
The Supernumerary is either a Mercenary (a Cashiered officer or Dishonourably Discharged trooper) or a Remittance Man(an idiotic, insane, alcoholic or addicted scion of a European family paid to stay far away from respectable society).
Congolese Askari are tough but deliberately poorly equipped to deter rebellion.
The Natives are terrorised semi-civilian forced labour and considered completely expendable by their masters.

[former user]

nothing to add in terms oh IHMN
as to the fluff:
with the figures, I would rather use the belgian force publique with the straw hats and mainly individual poses; I also agree about skipping the bayonets. In the spirit of the novel, I'd even go more irregular, there are a lot of other Foundry miniatures for that, maybe some masqued africans too.

as to the names - doesn't the novel bristle with enough colourful characters with names that You don't need to reinvent with a pillaged belgian supermarket?
just my 5 cents worth...

[Maldred]

I would rather use the belgian force publique with the straw hats and mainly individual poses; I also agree about skipping the bayonets. In the spirit of the novel, I'd even go more irregular, there are a lot of other Foundry miniatures for that, maybe some masqued africans too.

The only Foundry figures I can find with straw hats are also equipped with rifle & bayonet ... I do like the look of these though, scruffy but tough looking.

as to the names - doesn't the novel bristle with enough colourful characters with names that You don't need to reinvent with a pillaged belgian supermarket?

That assumes I'm not a literary dilettante relying on Wikipedia and lead adventures contributors for my research  anyway I like my Maigret he's the nearest thing to a heroic persona in the whole bunch ....

[former user]

The only Foundry figures I can find with straw hats are also equipped with rifle & bayonet ... I do like the look of these though, scruffy but tough looking.

these are not bad either, but still somehow uniformed - You can also cut off the bayonets...

That assumes I'm not a literary dilettante relying on Wikipedia and lead adventures contributors for my research  

that's just lazyness  
but You could watch the movie...

or listen to the audiobook while You paint the steamboat...

there will be a steamboat I hope?

[Dr Mathias]

The Rifle Armed Azande pack might be useful for you too, and they were certainly in the area. They have a 'somewhat uniformed' look.

http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/our-ranges/darkest-africa/azande

[Maldred]

 

there will be a steamboat I hope?

With my painting skills this is as good as it will get ...

Although I will look for a resin model at Salute ....

The Rifle Armed Azande pack might be useful for you too, and they were certainly in the area. They have a 'somewhat uniformed' look.

The trouble is that I like most all the Foundry figures, bearers, women & children, British, even Dastardly Belgians!

Now who does native huts that don't cost a fortune?