Basing my Anglo-Zulu War Figures?

[Onebigriver]

I'm painting my 15mm Anglo-Zulu War figures soon and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for painting the bases and a particular shade of static grass that resembled the veldt in January?

Cheers

[FierceKitty]

Used to live there. Remember red soil is common, and grass is commonly straw colour (European grass is a shock for visiting South Africans!).

[Onebigriver]

Used to live there. Remember red soil is common, and grass is commonly straw colour (European grass is a shock for visiting South Africans!).

Cheers, but I seem to remember reading that the grass was actually quite lush in January (if not as verdant as European grass) not as it is depicted in the Zulu film. Obviously you lived there but was it straw-coloured all year round?

Anyone any suggestions on depicting red soil?

[joroas]

Check out:

http://talesfromghq.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/AZW

[Sirius]

Cheers, but I seem to remember reading that the grass was actually quite lush in January (if not as verdant as European grass) not as it is depicted in the Zulu film. Obviously you lived there but was it straw-coloured all year round?

Correct, the colour does vary considerably with the seasons. And the summer of 1878/9 was particularly wet, and according to accounts the grassland around the East slopes of Isandlwana was not grazed much that year, so was notably long - think at least knee high and up to waist high in parts. And light grass green.

Have a look at these:

Summer:





Winter:



In the last pic the ruined walls are at about 50cm tall at their highest point. So the ungrazed grassland would be as tall as that, but as green as the first pic.


In terms of a colour reference for the red soil, think traditional artists' "burnt sienna".

[Onebigriver]

Brilliant, cheers all! 

[FifteensAway]

All right, Sirius, now you are going to have to explain all those piles of white (painted! surely) rocks.  Seriously.