Last of the plastic Beja … for now

While waiting for the terrain boards to dry I got on with assembling the last of the plastic Beja for my third rub. I know some folk find assembling plastic miniatures tedious, but I actually enjoy it – it takes me right back to my teenage self tackling Airfix, Frog, Matchbox or Revell sprues.

These fellows will be augmented by a handful of metal swordsmen, and once complete will join the rifle band and command group that are already finished.

I have a feeling that these will not be the last (one can never have enough Beja, I guess), but I have set myself the task of finishing all the Empire and Beja units I have before purchasing any more miniatures.

Drummers, flag bearers, and variously armed warriors – the beginnings of two more bands of Beja warriors.

Work in progress

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve surprised myself with my output this month, especially given everything else I have going on.

Just now I’m varnishing a couple of Empire units, and preparing another for priming, while beginning preparation and assembly of more Beja for my second rub. I enjoy the assembly, in particular a bit of minor conversion work like attaching a sword-armed forearm to a sleeved upper arm, or adding an extra spear to a hand.

I will need to make an order for some additional metal riflemen and charging command and swordsmen, and I fancy some Empire cavalry, but I am mindful of not allowing the lead pile to begin to look unmanageable. I worry less about the plastic sprues, accepting that these represent a longer term effort.

The second rub begins to take shape.

Hadendowa riflemen kit bashing

One of the things that troubled me was the lack of ammunition carried by the plastic riflemen … while some of the metal rifle-armed figures have ammunition pouches the plastic figures just have rifles. Since it seems likely that they would have carried ammunition in the original boxes captured form the Egyptians, I thought to make amends.

Just now I am preparing a rifle-armed band which will be a body guard for one of the Mahdist commanders, organised with the brass gun battery and a command group vignette. So I thought to add a couple of figures carrying an ammunition box between them. This minor conversion required removal of weapons, careful drilling of hands, and threading of wire rope.

The result looks promising.

Four minor conversions: the fellow on the left has his rifle modified so he can shoulder it in a relaxed fashion; the two middle fellows have rope handles in place for the ammunition box between them; the fellow on the right will bar a flag. This will be the only band of riflemen to carry a flag.

Beja camel riders

A delivery of a small flatpack unit yielded some very useful polystyrene, increasing my preparation capacity significantly. So I thought to make the most of it straight away.

A handful of free hours resulted in the first of the Beja camel riders being prepared for painting.

Since there aren’t any command codes for these troops in the Perry Miniatures’s Sudan range I decided to convert two of the riders to a commander and flag bearer.

The commander: original figure on the right, and after surgery on the left. The replacement arm and rifle came from the plastic Mahdist Ansar set, and I added a sling cut from tin foil.

Surgery complete: the commander holds his rifle aloft.

The first four of a unit of twelve.

Oliver pattern water bottles

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am considering enlisting Perry Miniatures’ plastic British Infantry (Afghanistan and Sudan 1887–1885) to the ranks of my Sudan field force. Soldiers serving in the Sudan would have been equipped with the ‘Oliver’ pattern water bottle, which is quite different from the type the figures are moulded with. Initially this seemed to be a minor consideration, but as I thought about it I began to consider a conversion.

Firstly, I bought an infantry frame on ebay in order to explore feasibility, which would involve the careful removal of the moulded water bottle and substitution with a metal one.

I had already bought a set of helmets, packs, rifles, and Oliver pattern water bottles from Empress Miniatures’ Zulu Wars range. I’m going to need rather more than the six bottles included, so I advertised on the Lead Adventure forum, which has yielded an further ten … so far.

The water bottle was a coopered barrel manufactured in Turin by Guglielminetti Brothers. The bands and stopper were galvanised iron, making it relatively heavy for its capacity of one quart, or two pints (just over a litre).

The infantry frame and the Oliver pattern water bottles.

The water bottle which needs removing, and its replacement.

Surgery complete …

… not too shabby.

Perry Miniatures plastic 28mm Sudan British

I am considering including a couple of infantry units appearing as they would as they arrived in theatre in khaki and P1871 valise equipment. One will represent men from 1/Royal West Kent Regiment, my late father’s and late Godfather’s regiment.

I was keen to have a close look at the plastic figures before committing to a box, and since the 36 figures in the box are not enough to make two twenty figure units, I ordered a single sprue from ebay.

Nice sharp mouldings, these figures will fit the bill.

I think I can live with the earlier patten water bottles.

Perry Miniatures’ Mahdist Ansar

There are plenty of reviews of Perry Miniatures’ Mahdist Ansar 28mm plastic figures on the web, but I thought to include a brief overview for completeness.

Nicely packaged and presented, the box contains six sprues: two identical command sprues; three identical ‘rank and file’ sprues; one sprue of bases; and a four page booklet. The informative text, written by Mike Snook, includes guides to tribal dress, and six flags.

The figures are cleanly moulded, nicely proportioned, and a good match for the twins’ metal range; if anything the plastic figures are ever so slightly bulkier, and a little taller. This assessment is based on the metal figures I have bought so far, limited to Beja rifle armed and camel mounted figures. There is likely to be more on this in a later post, I feel.

They assemble reasonably quickly, but reward careful matching of arms to torsos, and a little filler as required.

A pretty comprehensive four page booklet, written by Mike Snook, provides a brief history of the different tribes drawn to the Mahdi’s cause, examples of their dress …

… an overview of the 1881–1885 conflict, and even a small set of finely reproduced flags.

The command sprue features two figures, two ‘fuzzy wuzzy’ style heads, one head with a skull cap, one head in a turban, a sword, a Remington rifle, a drum, and a flag staff. There are two of these sprues in the box.

The ‘rank and file’ sprue features six poses, which are duplicated, twelve in all, with two Remington rifles, two sticks, two swords, eight spears, 12 shields …

… 12 Beja ‘fuzzy wuzzy’ style heads, five heads with scull caps (two styles), four shaven heads, one head with short hair, one head in a turban. There are three of these sprues in the box.

There is a lot of subtle detail in the mouldings …

… testament to the skill of the sculptor, the design of the sprues, and the quality of the tooling.