From NoelW: Napoleonics, Zulu war and some buildings

For my third quarantine post I decided to concentrate on buildings more than figures, though there’s a few figures here, too.

Firstly, a Sarissa bandstand. This is a lovely model and paints up nicely. It will take pride of place in my Walmington on Sea setup although, sadly, there’s no band to play there. Probably their instruments have been melted down to make Spitfires.

Next one of the Perry/Renedra plastic American farmsteads. This is likely to be used in several different contexts, so I’ve not based it or adorned it with fences, barrels etc (even though the kit contains a few of these which I'll probably use for scatter terrain, including a chair for the front porch.) I’ll count it against my AWI target, though it will certainly appear on ACW battlefields and in a small recently settled Western town, as yet unnamed, but which is gradually growing as new settlers drift in. I guess it might work in other colonial contexts, too. (Was Manifest Destiny colonialism? Discuss)

Third in this offering are four adobe buildings. These are my first stab at a collection my son bought from a Bring and Buy ten or more years ago, with the plan of using them for Somalia (to game Black Hawk Down). Unfortunately, the game never took place, as his interest in figure gaming was usurped by board and online games (I know! How could this happen?) so I’m intending to use them in the Sudan (they’ll become Khartoum rather than Mogadishu) and probably Egypt and Afghanistan, too.

A detailed inspection of the models suggests they’re actually intended for a context something like ancient Troy, as there’s a crescent shield hanging on one wall, and the pottery definitely is amphora-esque. I’ve not been able to discover their manufacturer, however. Possibly Grand Manner (they’re big heavy resin buildings, very much like those they produce, but not in their catalogue as far as I can see), possibly Ainsty, possibly Village Green. But probably not any of these.

As you can see, they’re painted simply, with a sprayed base and then “detailed” (I use that word incorrectly) with contrast paints and washes. The overall effect is pleasing enough and, as roofs and upper floors come apart, I can see the potential for a really big skirmish (is that an oxymoron?) game when I’ve managed to finish the lot.

Now, for those of you who’ve been patient enough to read this far, here are a few figures. They're from two projects started long ago, but still ticking over. Two of my favourites, in fact. I mentioned in my previous post Islandwana and the Zulu War more generally. So, speaking of generals, here’s Lord Chelmsford himself, arrogantly on his way to Ulundi whilst his army is savaged behind him.

And here’s one of his subcommanders, Colonel Charles Pearson, who led number 1 column in the invasion of Zululand. He’s depicted here being surprised by news of Islandwana. Or perhaps he’s just arguing with a subordinate about the exact location of the Zulus.

Pearson and Chelmsford come from the Perrys’ Victoria’s Little Wars range, whilst the officer Pearson is arguing with is from their plastic British Infantry Zulu Wars set. I do love the Perrys’ plastics. They’re the nearest thing to the youthful thrill of discovering a new Airfix boxed set.

Finally, three long-languishing elements of my British-against-the-French-in-Egypt project. Here’s Major General John Moore and companion, apparently having a discussion not unlike that conducted by Pearson. This is the John Moore of Corunna fame, not the owner of the Littlewoods chain of shops, the man behind Liverpool’s university of that name (that’s actually, John Moores, but who’s counting?) In 1801 in Egypt he was one of the most trusted of Abercromby’s subordinates.

Here’s one of his a colonels, of an indeterminate regiment with black facings (I’ve not painted one yet).

And finally, de Rolls’ regiment. This was composed of Swiss and Germans in British Service. As with several of the foreign regiments in British service, it’s hard to find the correct flags. The late Terry Wise’s Osprey on Napoleonic Flags contains a flag of 1805 for De Rolls, but it carries "Egypt" and the sphinx as battle honours. It’s also yellow, though the regiments’ facings are sky blue. Lacking any other info, removing the honours from the Wise flag seems the best option.

I award myself the imaginary points of 20 for all the buildings, 25 for the Zulu wars commanders, and 90 for the British generals and regiment.

Project	New Task	‘Points’	Old Task	‘Points’
Agincourt
AWI	Farmstead	3
Black Seas (1/700th)
British in Egypt: 1801			Generals de Rolls’ regiment	30 60
Cape Wars	12 infantry	60
Carthaginians
Crusades	Command group	20
ECW
French in Egypt: 1801
Frostgrave/fantasy	3 Treemen	24	Frankie	5
Italian Wars
Lord of the Rings
Minden (15mm)
Ottoman
Peninsular War			12 Spanish	60
Republican Romans
Sikh/Afghan Wars
1860s British IF
1880s, the Sudan	Buildings	15
Walmington/Sealion			3 Civvies 6 zombies Bandstand	15 30 2
Waterloo
WW2 Desert
Zulu War	NNI	30	Pearson and Chelmsford	25
TOTAL		152		227