The Berkshires, two command groups … and a small dog

I have finally finished my first army infantry unit, and added command groups for the Suakin Field Force and the Red Sea Littoral Mahdists.

My latest unit has been a long time coming – I first posted something about my idea for it back in January. I wanted to include some of the character of contemporary eye witness war correspondents’ illustrations, typical of The Graphic and The Illustrated London News, and embodied by the painting by Karl Kopinski, which adorns the cover of Mike Snook’s Go Strong into the Desert.

The 24 figure unit is now finished, and I am very pleased with the way they turned out.

While finishing these fellows, and working on three more bands of Beja warriors, I assembled Lt-Gen Graham’s HQ group and Osman Digna’s command group. The former comprises mounted figures of Graham, a staff officer, and a red flag bearer (who accompanied the chief to indicate his location). The latter comprises a mounted Osman Digna, two flag bearers, a tribal leader, and a drummer.

Today I learned that a Toy Spaniel accompanied one of the Berkshire’s officers in the Sudan, which led me to think about the possibility of a small vignette. More of this in a later post.

Top–to–bottom: The Berkshires, Graham’s HQ group, Osman Digna’s command group, and a slightly modified Bobby from Perry Miniatures’ plastic Afghan/Sudan British infantry set.