Anglo-Zulu War. Zulus - the start of Thousands of em!

 Doing an AZW project has been on the cards for a while. While in 28mm it would look epic - I have seen it several times at shows over the years. I wanted something that would not come with added storage wars. Compared to the Sudan it’s also more limited in scope , so 10mm seems the obvious route to go down . 

Friend Martin said he would do the Brits  and other pieces if I did the Zulus . At least it means no guns and cavalry etc . So the orders have been placed with Pendraken providing the majority - over a 1000 figures and another few 100 from Steve Barber . 

So the first Zulu regiment or iButho has been completed . We are using a rough scale of 1/20 .We  will do a campaign at mad friend Gerry’s Situation Room later this year . So to kick off here is the first one 

This represents about 2000 men from the uMbonambi from the left horn at Isandlwana . Its frontage is 16 inches so a decent size . 

These are an Unmarried regiment , and have black shields with some white spots 

I sprayed them with a colour forge Hyrax Brown rattle can . Then it’s a pretty simple and quick painting process:-

Base coat - Spray

Drybrush a lighter brown - I used Vallejo Flat Earth

Black for the hair 

Weapon colour - flat brown for the Knobkerrie and beige brown for the Assagie 

Loin cloth a lighter brown/khaki/off white 

Head dress and leg decorations picked out a lighter colour , off white 

Give em a thin brown wash 

Metals 

Paint shield back a light brown

Paint shield front main colour 

Paint shield decoration 

Varnish 

Overall it’s quick - took a full evening to do 100 of them after they had been base coated .

Basing is on a mix of 60x60, 60x30 and  30x30 . That will allow for base removal not any mucking about with casualty markers . 

 

I did the static grass direct rather making tufts . It uses 3 different grass , 2 are 2mm and 1 that is 1mm 

 

Another 12 units to do and they will be Washing their Spears.

Zulu Wars. British Artillery

It has been a productive weekend , with just varnishing and last touches to bases meaning a number of items are now finished!. I was suitably inspired after doing the Rorkes Drift characters that having found this set I got earlier in the year I decided to complete it. The gun model is a finely detailed piece of equipment - and a total pain to assemble! But once done it painted up nicely. I have gone for a double basing option with the gunners individually based , but  done so they can be put onto a a textured base which has wheel ruts etc for the gun, It gives different options. All figures etc by Empress Miniatures. The blues for the gunners is the ever reliable Andrea Color blue set..

7lb gun & crew

 

9lb gun & crew with base

 

 Or the option without the main base

 So it is back to cowboys and buildings next

Zulu Wars - "What about the soup sir?"

I have finished the other Empress Miniature releases picked up at Salute. Now if you have seen the film you know the quote. This figure is yet another excellent one.  I even checked the film just to see what he was wearing - the striped shirt.

and with the others from the Rorkes Drift defenders set

 

Next up Reverand Smith, Surgeon Reynolds & private Hitch

 

And everything from  this week together

I have also "found" (as in forgotten i had bought last year) a 7lb artillery piece set from Empress too, so have assembled that and the gunners are undercoated. So it is choices time for what to do over the rest of the weekend. Teutonic personalities, Cowboys, Old West buildings, Mahdist horde or Zulu War gunners. Choices indeed! hmmm.. it might just be Cowboys as there may be be a game in the offing..."Hey you in the jail....."...  "Oh the Deadwood stage...."  and I have even found a fantastic Al Swearengen figure - he's on order!"

Zulu Wars.

First lot of recent acquisitions completed. Empress Miniatures new character releases.Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton & Corporal Schiess. Absolutely superb bit of sculpting by Paul Hicks. Really enjoyed doing these two. More to come over the next week.

Added some troopers - done the "Silver Whistle" way - to test it for future large scale Zulu project.  White undercoat, blocked and acrylic washed - definitely a way of getting them done for an en masse. Cheers Pat.

Also Lt Colonel Pulleine

And a 3 day weekend to come, so some painting time planned

Lt Melvill - Zulu Wars - Empress Miniatures

Well there has been a lot of French green here lately, so to finish of clearing the painting table I found this figure part done, as I had started the horse but was struggling to get on with the look of  it, so parked it unitl another time.

The horse was done with a Burnt Sienna oil rub over Humbrol 62 (leather) however i did not like the end look - not enough sculpting on horse to make it really work well I think. I then varnished it with matt enamel varnish (once it was dried!), and gave it a wash with Vallejo Sepia dipping formula. Highlights on mane and tail were then done with Vallejo biege brown, the socks and blaze were Vallejo Ivory and then an offwhite highlight!

I used the Andrea red cololr set for the tunic

A bit  more about Sepia Wash

it works like the unbiquitous GW Devlan Mud, excpet you get 16 times the amount  for about 2.5 times the price... do the maths - i am Scots/Yorkshire....
LINK - Via Antenocitis Workshop


I have had more goodies turn up to add the Gunfighters - with a host more of civilains and bad guys again from Black Scorpion. more soon.

cheers! TGIF!

"Zulu" Lt. Gonville Bromhead & "Old West" Pat Garret

I received this pair from Black Scorpion Miniatures this week and liked the look of them so I  wanted to get them included in the painting challenge - and to give me something interesting to do between oil painting the horses that are on the go). I don't find just working on one figure at a time terribly productive so always do at least two so i can switch between them if waiting for something to dry etc.

With the Bromhead figure all dressed up in his cloak I could just hear Michael Caine's voice - "Well chin chin.. do carry on with your mud pies"

In terms of sizing however the Black Scorpion is considerable larger and well fed than the Empress Miniatures one completed recently - both different and both great to paint.

The Old West lawman Pat Garret is from the Black Scorpion Tombstone range - just need to get hold of a Billy the Kid. Another one to add to the law man collection

Back to conversion work on the second regiment of Chasseurs tomorrow, then they are ready for undercoating.

Anything but....

what I had intended to paint this week. You know - the butterfly syndrome - but good for the creative process overall. Having bought some shiny new metal at York I decided to paint some of it up, just for the enjoyment of painting. So I present a mixed bag of chaps with a Hollywood connection..

"The Man with no Name"

The poncho was fun!

 By "Ebob" - right down to the cigar in his mouth - great stuff

"Zulu"

"Empress Miniatures" - the film characters set - I had to have it on in the background while painting. 

'If it's a miracle, Colour Sergeant, it's a short chamber Boxer Henry 4.5 calibre miracle'

Lovely to paint really crisp and clean details - even have the medals on Colour Sergeant Bourne's chest!

"March or Die"

I watched this again after picking up some "Artizan Designs" French Foreign Legion figures from there March or Die range

The desert fort is nearly completed - will be used for Sudan and FFL games - so will have  get these pictured in it!

And the "Elite Miniatures" Legere recently completed are now based by Will - thanks for the photo

 I have a couple of other single figure specials on the go as well at the moment , then its into serious amounts of Sudan stuff - I have checked figure totals and can now cover the battle of El-Teb at a 1-20 ratio - so that's the target for the end of the summer.  Of course there will Napoleonics as well - the Mamaluke band castings have just turned up too.. choices choices....