2nd Afghan War cavalry

[Curassier]

Thinking of gently moving into this period.
Nothing to my mind beats the wonderful Hicks-sculpted cavalry in the Empress Zulu war range.
Can anyone advise - might their british cavalry figures - especially the Dragoons/Dragoon guards - be usable for the 2nd Afghan conflict. I suppose khaki tunics would be an easy conversion just using paint - but really not sure if the cut or whatever is totally different. Seem to be very few plate/picture sources for what is not exactly an obscure conflict. I imagine that the lancers are not usable due to the cut of the tunic. Wasn't Empress promising an Afghan War range or is this encompassed by the "Jazz Age Imperialism" ? Much appreciate any pointers
Curassier

[Hobbit]

Two or three years back Empress were promising a rage for the Tirah campaing in 1895. I chatted to them a little about that as it related to something I was working on at the time but I think it has been overtaken by the Jazz Age project.

Can't comment on how useful the AZW figures might be for the 2nd Afghan War.

[joroas]

Perrys Sudan range would be closer in time.................

[Curassier]

Useful comments - the Empress cavalry is just so much more lively looking than the Perry stuff - don't get me wrong - they are not bad, just a bit ordinary. But i will probably end up with he.
Thanks
Curassier

[fitterpete]

All right I'm confused.Admittedly this is not my period in any way but....
Wasn't the 2nd Afghan War from 1878-80 and the AZW 1879?
Pete

[joroas]

..and troops went to the Sudan from 1882.  However, any view of British uniforms at the time would suggest that the red uniforms and gaiters of the AZW were drastically different to the khaki and puttees worn in the 2AW. The Perry range is closer in appearance.

[fitterpete]

OK that makes sense.
I was confused because hobbit brought up a 1895 range.

I still think he could use the Empress lancers as they appear to be in cavalry boots.
And I would personally use any and all excuses to paint the Empress figures
Like I said definitely not my area.My Empress lancers are brigaded with Warlord Crimean lancers for early VSF
Thanks,
Pete

[joroas]

Unless he's playing a button-counter, a paint job would cover it......

[Hobbit]

I only mentioned the potential 1895 range because the question had been posed as to whether Empress had planned to do a range for the 2nd Afghan War.

As I said I engaged in a little correspondence with Empress at the time; they were initially very enthusiastic about their plans for 1895, then the subject changed to 3rd Afghan War and I don't think there has been any mention of the 1895 Tirah range since (I think that was about 2 years ago). It wasn't my intention to suggest that 1895 figures would be suitable for 2nd Afghan War merely to point out what I knew of Empress's plans at that time.

Off the top of my head I don't think that there were any regular British cavalry deployed during the Tirah campaign anyway and probably not much Indian cavalry either (I'd have to check my notes). I think that there were a handful of Chitrali horsemen involved but that they mostly served to stop their own side from running away.

[Stepman3]

Love them or Hate them...Old Glory does some figures...I think they look great when fielding nothing but OG, but next to other figures they lose some appeal...but I love the completeness of the ranges offered....and use the brits from the Boer War range

http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/products.asp?cat=235

[Rob Herrick]

The 2nd Anglo-Afghan War was a mix. Some units (like the 10th Hussars) were veteran India campaigners well outfitted with simple khaki tunics, but still wore their blue pants. From Baden-Powell's sketches, the 13th Hussars were in Home Service Dress - braided Atillas, and either the busby or a pith helmet with spike as headgear (BP has sketched both).

The 9th Lancers apparently started in Home Service Dress, but quickly ended up in a mix. I've seen single and double-breasted khaki, quilted coats and poshteens. Other units also varied by dress. I suspect a lot depended on the whim of the officers, and the length of time a unit was in country. Indian Cavalry units also were more colorful, and many were in yellows, blues and green tunics.

It's not Anglo-Afghan, but a good example of how things could have gone down was the cavalry brigade assembled for field service in the Anglo-Boer War. The 6th Iniskilling Dragoons wore full home service dress with pith helmets, while the Hussars sent out from India were in khaki.

As to whether you can use them, some modifications would be necessary. The helmets are not quite right (covered helmets were generally worn in Aghanistan), and obviously the uniforms are in Home Service dress as modified for Zululand. The auxiliary cavalry will work for the 10th Hussars, if you give them swords and scabbards - the 10th had a decent dismounted drill, and often fought carbine slung over their shoulder or at hand when mounted. The advantage there are the dismounts, obviously. Using them as the 13th would be more difficult - the frogged tunics of the Newcastle Mounted Rifles and the Buffalo Border guard are close to an Atilla, but they need swords, and the 13th would be much less likely to be going around Afghanistan carbine in hand.

The Dragoon Guards would need a lot of their finery removed to serve as khaki frocks, but they could work. Or you could just smooth out the helmets and paint your 6th DG in their blue uniform faced white if you wanted. I can't find much evidence either way whether they wore khaki or blue.

The Lancer figures would absolutely work as the 9th Lancers early in the conflict, with proper helmet modifications.

So, it's up to you and what kind of painting and gaming you want to do.

[Curassier]

Many thanks to all but especially to Rob for that comprehensive answer.
All the best
Curassier

[Rob Herrick]

No problem!

That's part of the fun of colonials, especially in the 1870s. There was the widest variety of kit available, and so you can justify folks in khaki alongside redcoats and sailors and splendiferous cavalry. The French are equally colorful, if not even more so!

As the era gets closer to 1900, drabber uniforms predominate. That can make painting easier, but less fun.