Perry Zulu War British Infantry Preview

[Steelwraith]

Oh, man, they look brilliant. There were a couple shots I had to look closer at. I thought for sure they were colourised historical images. Perry minis and Osprey rules. Might have to do that this summer.

[levied troop]

"Parts for two heliograph teams are included in the box"

Curious inclusion, do we really need two heliograph teams in plastic?  I'd have thought that was an obvious candidate for metal additions.

Although I'm probably just looking for reasons to resist this 

[Griefbringer]

The heliograph team is included in the command sprue, and there are apparently two command sprues per set, thus two heliograph sets (plus four casualties).



As can be seen from the sprue pic, the heliograph is just two parts, and takes relatively little sprue space. Plus the arms for the heliograph team (holding binoculars, writing notes, open hands) can be used for a lot of other possible uses: officers observing positions, war correspondents writing notes, sergeants gesticulating wildly etc.

And of course there are the other arm options (swords, pistols, rifles, bugler, standard) in case you want to have something more martial looking than a heliograph team or war correspondent. As far as I can tell, there are 20 arms in total on the command sprue (plus you also get extra rifle arms in the line grunt sprue).

[JamesValentine]

I know little so I'm gonna ask.
What's home service? I love the pointy spikey heads :p

[Eric the Shed]

When the troops are based in Blighty...

[Plynkes]

The Home Service Helmet was the new full dress helmet introduced in 1878 (replacing a somewhat ugly squat-looking shako). I don't believe it was ever worn in action, so it might seem like it doesn't have much use for modellers outside of a diorama of a parade or something. However its inclusion is a popular one because it's a nice thing to have your chaps wearing if you are a VSF gamer and Martian cylinders start landing on your lawn and the slug-like beings contained therein start building tripods and generally fucking up everyone's shit in the Home Counties region.

Most but not all infantry units wore this helmet as their full dress headgear. The exceptions were the Guards (bearskin), Highlanders (feather bonnet or diced shako depending on regiment), Fusiliers (Seal or Racoon-skin cap -  a busby-like affair that looked halfway to being a bearskin) and Rifles (busby).

The more familiar white/tea stained helmet seen in action was called the foreign service helmet.

[JamesValentine]

Cool. Would this uniform and helmet be suitable for well armed Victorian police?

Though I may use some to mark more "veteran" units in zulu

[Plynkes]

Well the uniform is similar to a policeman's one. But they're carrying too much military gear to really pass as policemen (unless we're talking about Zulu War units of Mounted Police, but you'd be better off getting dedicated figures for those - Empress do them, others probably do too).

On the rare occasion you see a Victorian or Edwardian policeman with a firearm, it tends to be a shotgun.

[Leigh Metford]

Of course, that depends on which part of the empire you're referring to.

[Plynkes]

Indeed. I meant to say "too much military gear to really pass as UK policemen", but that part got forgotten in the act of typing.

[Griefbringer]

The Home Service Helmet was the new full dress helmet introduced in 1878 (replacing a somewhat ugly squat-looking shako). I don't believe it was ever worn in action, so it might seem like it doesn't have much use for modellers outside of a diorama of a parade or something. However its inclusion is a popular one because it's a nice thing to have your chaps wearing if you are a VSF gamer and Martian cylinders start landing on your lawn

It might also be a useful piece of equipment when confronting the occasional Victorian zombie infestation on the outskirts of Surrey etc. since it means that there is an extra spikey bit between the zombie and your brains.

Other feasible what-if scenarios might involve:

1.) Yet another Irish rebellion
2.) An uprising by extremely hardcore Jacobite highlanders
3.) Miners in Wales accidentally discovering underground caves inhabited by a rather annoyed race of ancient lizardmen or frogmen, who emerge aboveground to wreck havoc
4.) Surprise landing by the Preussian Zeppelin Corps airlanding infantry, intent on robbing some outstanding example of British science (for example a prototype of a revolutionary new tea pot)
5.) R'lyeh rising out of the sea outside Dover, with great Cthulhu emerging out to feast on an assortment of tourists admiring the white cliffs, until the brave men off the Foot and Mouth regiment drive him away with bayonets ("They don't like it up 'em"). Tea and scones will be served afterwards for the survivors.

[Plynkes]

One would hope the Royal Navy could deal with Great Cthulhu. If Tommy Atkins' services were required things would have come to a pretty pass.

[Griefbringer]

Royal Navy might give the Great Chtulhu a proper spanking, but if you want to use Perry models for the senior service then you need to look for the metals range.

Back to the topic, besides the home and foreign service helmets, the "firing line" sprue seems to contain a binch of heads without helmets for some variety:

[italwars]

the spiked home service helmet could be used, maybe, together with a slightly modified ACW Perry Plastic rider to obtain a Natal Mounted Police or similar uniformed AZW paramilitary/volunteer horseman

[carlos marighela]

It's certainly a useful addition if you fancy defending Fort Queenscliff from an imaginary Russian invasion.

Apro pos of nothing, I wonder if the Perry twins could be convinced to do a range for the Burma Wars? They've tackled more obscure topics. Their Plastic box for Sudan would work for the Third War. Bits and bobs from various Mutiny ranges would suffice for the Second and headswaps to their Napoleonics would cover the First. The missing factor is a decent range of Burmese, particularly musket armed troops, which made up to 50% of their army in some engagements in the First War.

I have some lovely framed prints of the First War and it's a strangely absent topic for gaming. All the exotica you could imagine. Teak stockades that recall the Maori Pa, jungle warfare, riverine combat, lots of temples that give folk the chance to use their fish tank scenery and Buddha statues. There are exotic uniforms, rockets and well elephants.

If they can do the Cape Wars, which are small beer by comparison........

One can but dream.