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.

Merry Christmas from the work bench

Merry Christmas to my followers and visitors. I hope you have a relaxing time over the next few days and get a bit of time for whatever kind of wargaming activity takes your fancy.

I am in the middle of basing the 1st battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Berkshire) Regiment (who look very keen to get stuck in), and Lieutenant-General Graham’s and Osman Digna’s command groups.

Also on the bench are some more palm tress and a cork-faced hill in three sections. Perfect holiday projects.

Command groups, Osman Digna’s on the left and Graham’s on the right, with the Berkshires getting stuck in at the front. (All Perry Miniatures.)

First army infantry unit, command group, and terrain boards upgrade

While making steady progress with my first army infantry unit, I have been working on General Graham’s command group, and finally turned my attention to upgrading my terrain boards.

I have made some progress with the figures I have been looking forward to doing for some time (link), a spirited set in mêlée, which capture a sense of the action seen in many of the contemporary eyewitness drawings and published prints.

I’ve had Perry Miniatures’ personality figures (SB1) and the mounted infantry officers (SB2) for a while now, and thought to paint up mounted figures for Graham, an officer from his staff, a red flag bearer, and a handful of officers on foot. The red flag bearer is a conversion of one of the mounted infantry officers from SB2, with an arm from the plastic infantry set (VLW 1 British Infantry in Afghanistan and Sudan 187785). The flag is tin foil, shaped to look as it would when not caught by a breeze.

The terrain boards are a set of 610mm x 305mm I had made last year. They complement a set of 610mm x 610mm boards I have had for ages (link), and the plan is to use them to give more flexibility in terms of table layout. They were ordered to match the boards I already had, but arrived looking a bit too green, which has persuaded me to completely repaint them. I am using a mixture of household emulsion and play pit sand, which results in a paste which provides a gritty texture when applied with a roller. It will be interesting to see how it comes up when dry brushed with lighter colours.

Top to bottom: my first army infantry unit, General Graham and his staff, with mini-me on the left, and terrian boards drying out.