Sudan - Skirmishers for the Cameron Highlanders

I have finally finished the last of the tartan, with the completion of the skirmish stands for the Cameron Highlanders. So thats another 6 figures to add the collection.

Pleased to have got these done.

Sudan - Queens Own Cameron Highlanders

I have been revisiting the Sudan collection and plan to do a good few more units coming up. One of the last major British units I wanted to completed was the Camerons. I decided to do these in the classic red tunic as they fought in red at the battle of Ginnis.

The unit is 48 figures plus a mounted officer. I still have to complete a skirmish company for them - I thought I had the figures in stock , but turns not not - something to rectify at the York show.

The delights of how to paint the Tartan! 

This completes the 3 highland battalions for the Sudan. I want to complete one more British battalion , not sure which just yet , plus the New South Wales battalion.

Glad to get these completed - they took an age!

Sudan - The Desert Column part 1

Back to the Sudan and here we have the start of the colonial forces.

  A decent amount of camels for the logistical tail

 Mostly Connoisseur

95th Rifles

As well as the recent diorama set of these I have completed 12 of these individual pesky grasshoppers .  Riflemen based for skirmish games.
 
These are again Front Rank miniatures. Good clean high quality castings that took no real work to clean up. A nice variety of poses and headgear too. The green used is the Andrea Color shade 1 and shade 5 to get the main colour, with highlight and shadow work being just other colours from the set.

Nice to do some Napoleonics - few more coming up too

95th Rifles vignette

I completed this small display piece vignette over the holidays as a favour for a friend who wanted a present for someone.Figures are by Fronk Rank , really good crisp castings . I used the Andrea Color Green set (available from my ever reliable supplier Historex Agents in Dover) , with a mix of the darker shades to get the base colour I was after. The polished base was sourced from a charity shop for 99p - it originally had a squirrel on it !- a careful attack with a screwdriver soon removed it.

So thats the first of the New Year completed.

74th Line

I have been working on clearing off the prep desks ready for new stuff post hols. So I have completed some old school classic shiny Elite miniatures Napoleonic . The 74th line , a highland unit from the Peninsula without kilts.

Also completed another piece for the Old West Railroad as I finally laid my hands on a Denver & Rio Grande passenger car - now you never know who may turn up in town on the train. This just needed a decent bit of dutsy weathering.

Still a few things left to clear off - but getting there.

Gordon Pasha

Well as I have the Mahdi for one side - I figured it was time for Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum to make an entry. I picked this guy up as part of Doug C's collection , gave him a litte more added highlights and a refresh of the varnish and basing. This is an old "Connoisseur" casting if i remember correctly, and rather fine too.

He is busy setting about organising his defences and organising his troops more of those shortly.

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

Some "Old School Shinyness"

What with all this matt finish of late - it was time for some real old school shine - so get you sunglasses on. Here we have the 5th Line - Northumberland Regiment. Mainly Connoissur with an odd Bicorne. A nice coat of gloss over those scarlet tunics - all the better for seeing off Johnny Frenchman!

Only real challenge with these lads was the facing colour variously described as Yellowish Brown , through to Gosling Green - dunno about you but I have never seen a green gosling (maybe it is American superhero?) . So something I have never seen before is more or less yellowish green , than some else I have never seen... hmm. I took a cue from the excellent as ever GMB flag. I created a mix of Vallejo Middlestone and Golden Olive - seemed to do the trick. So that is the painting table completely empty. Ready for new shinyness & projects - Huzzah!

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!