Friday 29 May 2020

I say old chap!


Now that I'm almost half way through preparing the Beja for my The Men Who Would Be Kings project, I thought I'd take a look at the British. 

As I'm not exactly rolling in cash at the moment, my plans to use metal figures have gone astray, so I'm going to use plastic figures instead. This limits my options quite a bit as I'm setting the scene in the First Suakin Campaign, so that I can field the Fuzzy Wuzzy hairdo figures for the Beja, so my British will either have to be the Yorks and Lancs or the Royal Irish Fusiliers, being dressed in Indian North West Frontier uniforms. 

I did for a moment think about using the Zulu War plastic set but with pugaree helmets from the Sudan box and green stuff converted trouser bottoms, but then reality slapped me in the face and I decided not to (yet). Anyway, I'm not keen on the pith helmets with covers, so Princess Victoria's Royal Irish Fusiliers it will probably be (unless I go all 'what if?' and create my own plucky regimental detachment of a suitably fictitious description or pretend that the 2nd Devonshires were sent to the Sudan instead?)

I also have a metal screw gun and crew to deploy, so my field force will consist of three units of twelve stalwart, stiff upper lipped infantry and the attached rather unsportsmanlike artillery. This is a convenient 24 points worth in the rules, so much less assembly work to do and also a relatively short painting timeframe required. I have ordered a spare command sprue to make up the officer and NCO numbers for the three twelve man units but may also get a Zulu War command sprue as well, so that I can make a useful heliograph team on the cheap.

9 comments:

  1. Just painting these myself. The good thing about going with khaki uniforms is that it makes for a fairly straightforward paint job and with not a lot of webbing to paint I've found you can get through these at a reasonable pace (when not distracted by other projects that is!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I was thinking, especially if I basecoat them in Khaki to start with!

      Delete
    2. Basecoat Army Painter bone, paint webbing, bags white, soft tone, dip. Job done

      Delete
  2. On the plus side when funds allow you'll be able to get some plastic Afghans (either Wargames Atlantic or wait for the Perry ones) and get double duty out of your British.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, 3 regulars plus artillery can be a bit brutal on the tribal types in TMWWBK in my experience.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a thought. I may well a unit of irregular 'friendly' scouts for the British, using my leftover Mahdist figures, which would be a bit more crumbly that the regulars?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not a bad plan. I'm intending to get some Perry metal Egyptians for my British Sudan force (eventually) and a field gun (with enslaved crew) for the Beja to even the odds a bit.

      Delete
    2. Funny you should mention that as I am using the field gun too. I didn't fancy painting up any cavalry at vast expense, although the camel mounted beja are cool!

      Delete

Labels

Bag The Hun (746) AK47 (488) Books (480) Ironclads (474) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (234) Pre-Dreadnoughts (228) Coastal Warfare (225) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Napoleonic Naval (144) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (61) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)