Dervishes Finally Finished!

After many weeks of procrastination, I finally finished the last unit of my small Victorian Colonial Dervish force - a unit of 12 mounted spearmen. Shown below with the unit leader (holding flag) and a senior mounted leader, they are venerable 25mm Ral Partha figures. As always, please click on the picture for a larger view.

My Dervish force now consists of three 20-figure infantry units, this 12-figure cavalry unit, two 4-figure gun crews (using whatever guns may be available), and two senior leaders (one mounted and one foot ), plus a prophet. Coupled with my small Beja force of two 20-figure infantry units and one 12-figure camelry unit, this will make a handy army to wreck havoc in the Soudan against the British and their Egyptian lackeys.

Of course I still have to finish with the Egyptians. And then there are the rest of the Bedouin/Berber style Arabs, and the Pathans, and more British, and an Indian lancer unit left to go. So I'm not finished with the Victorian Colonial "lead mountain" yet!

January 2009 Painting

January's painting total was an impressive 135 Olley points, consisting of 14 mounted figures, 104 foot figures, and 3 guns. But when one looks at the type of figures - all Victorian Colonial and almost all Dervish or Beja warriors - then the total is only impressive for the number, not the complexity of the painting.

Victorian Colonial native warriors, especially Dervish and Beja, are very simple to paint - brownish skin, off-white clothes, brownish shields, and weaponry. No turnbacks, lapels, lace on tricornes, etc., etc. But 121 total figures is still pretty darn good, if I say so myself.

You've already seen the Beja camelry and part of a warrior band in an earlier post, so here are pictures of most of the rest.

This is a complete Egyptian artillery battery organized per The Sword and the Flame (TSATF) rules that we use here in Jackson, Miss. It consists of three guns (Krupp breechloaders), one battery commander, and twelve gunners (four per gun). All the figures are Ral Partha (as with few exceptions are all the figures featured this month). The Egyptian gunners are supposed to be in blue uniforms, but I had already painted nine of the thirteen figures in white uniforms and wasn't going to change them just prior to a game. Maybe I'll repaint them later, or maybe not.

This is a complete TSATF Indian artillery battery armed with small mountain howitzers. Eight of the gunners and two guns were added this month to the officer, four gunners, and one gun that I already had painted.

This is a small part of one of the two 20-figure Beja war bands. They are armed with swords and spears, except for one warrior who has a rifle.

This is a small portion of the second 20-figure Beja warband. They armed the same as the first.

This picture shows the senior Dervish war leader (mounted, on left), a captured Egyptian Krupp gun with its crew, and a senior foot war leader.

Joining the Dervish war band that I have had painted for a number of years was two more, this being the first, consisting of 20 warriors armed with sword and spear.

And the second, also similarly armed.

A note: All the Dervish and Beja flags are courtesy of www.warflag.com .

I still have a 12-figure cavalry unit to paint to complete my Dervish forces, which will ultimately consist of two mounted units, five foot units, and two gun crews.

Next month, I'll get that mounted unit painted and begin work on my Pathan forces and maybe some British and Indian cavalry. With this year's theme being Colonial Adventuring, I will use it as an impetus to get as many of my Victorian Colonial forces painted as I can.