Going Strong Up The Nile!

I'm excited to announce a new theatre of war for this blog...the Sudan. I bought a copy of Kevin Calder's 'Up the Nile' years ago, but never really studied it thoroughly. Finding some time last week to sit and digest it, I really liked what I read. I knew I would, as I love his ACW game which uses many of the same mechanics.

I am forming a cunning plan to use smaller 20mm figures from Newline Design, but to keep the base sizes and ranges the same. I did think about scaling the 50mm bases down to 40mm, but decided to make life hard for myself by adding an extra couple of figures per base. 

I just like the idea of keeping the bases the same size as suggested, it's nice to start a rule set from the beginning and stick to the guide lines. I have spent too many sleepless nights worrying about rebasing armies.

Newline Designs have a nice range of 20mm Sudan figures. Many of the gaps missing in the range can be found in the Zulu British lists, like the Naval Brigade etc. Also Zulu war lancers and mounted police can be easily converted into Hussars with some green stuff and brush bristle swords. The large Perry's Hussars above are great for reference.

There is so much to take in and learn when researching a new era...but I'm getting there.

Both sides in the conflict have their own charms and challenges to get right. It's such a characterful period in more ways than one. The rules do a fantastic job of bottling some of that Victorian flavour with the special rules for officers. 

Each unit is given its own separate command figure who's attributes have to be diced for. This will obviously have a huge effect on his ability to give orders in the heat of battle. It's a nice touch and gives an element of dread to the firing results if commanded by a buffoon.

There is also a section on solo play using a table to calculate the Mahdist's actions. This is a lovely touch and I suppose there's nothing from stopping you playing two players against it. A friend sharing the command of the British, while the enemy plays via the random table.

The Camel corps are straight out of a boy's adventure book, you couldn't get any more Victorian if you tried.

I did start painting beautiful 28mm British from Artisan a few years ago. However, I ran out of steam with the project. The figures are very nice but I struggled to get a foothold with it. I'm hoping with this smaller scale of mini, I can crank through some Sudan units. 

It's not a total loss with my paused 28mm British, as I learnt so much about painting them. The bonus of keeping a blog is it's all still there to look back on. The Dessert yellow spray will hopefully do a lot of the heavy lifting with the project.

Reference figure off the internet. The Serge grey has caused painters a lot of grief over the years...but I think I've got the perfect paint for it. More on this later.
 

I've been giving the Sudan a lot of thought and this had lead to me picking up tiny stones in the garden. As the figures will be 20mm, the terrain will have to be in scaled down too, so smaller rocks for the bases.

As well as pea gravel, my little boy's sand pit has been raided. There must be a ton of dry sand on the ground, bleached dry in the baking sun recently. This has been scooped up and given its own tub ready for basing.

I'll have to get another copy soon...one for best!

A page from the rules regarding base sizes...I must say I am very excited about getting into this colourful era.

Update, I have just bought this on my way back from London. It's a new product for me but I have enjoyed using these pastes in the past, so thought I'd give this sand one a go.

My plan is to use my usual layer of Arid earth from Luke's APS, sprinkled with sand from the sandpit. On top of this I will try some of this desert paste to make little wind swept dunes.

Here are some of the figures from Newline Design. I plan to base my force around 1884. Although the infantry will tie right in, these lancers with their helmet sun covers and chain mail epilettes may be a little too late for me, great for Winston Churchill's little charge though. 

Although, does anyone really care so I'm sure they'll be fine. I ordered a starter force for the Brits in Sudan and I'm sure this set will be in it. It's the only cavalry Newline do for the Sudan, which made me start looking looking at converting other ranges.

These fellows are from the later period too by the looks of things. However, ignoring a few items of equipment, the uniform colours are great reference.

It's interesting how much the natural rock contrasts to the sand in the Sudan. This is something I will have to bare in mind when doing the bases.

Bonnie Blue Flag Notes

 I found some more notes from the author, so I'm sticking them on here so I can easily find them again.

Creating a snowy base.

The Panzer walker is given a coat of dark yellow as a starting layer.
 

Next I drew on some camouflage lines with a pen.

Some base colours were then added. I tried to go for a WWI German vibe but also added some red. The red was to give it a slightly new look and was a little nod to the Red Baron.

Once the colours were down and washed with rust shade, I dry brushed some white onto the legs and belly. This is a new idea to help the weathering effects.

Here are my snow products, I found the green stuff frost today while looking for paints. In it goes, I have no idea what it looks like when dry.

My first step is a muddy base from Vallejo, when this is dry a layer of snow texture and from Vallejo.

While the snow mixture is still wet I sprinkle on some snow flock. This sticks to the wet mud too so sprinkling it on is better for control. If you dipped it in the pot, the whole base would be white. I like the idea of mixing different mediums when doing the snow. I think it gives a better result rather than just using one.

This is the base done really, time for the figure to get the freeze treatment. For this I use the Blizzard pot from GW. Don't use the Vallejo texture on the figure as the results are not subtle. This whole snow project has been one of trial and error for me. I've had a couple of disasters along the way, but the only way to find stuff out is to try it.

The blizzard mix is by far the best out of the bunch but it might be a waste to cover bases in it. You can use it on the base too on branches or places of detail.

The blizzard mix was used on the legs of the walker in large clumps, this gave a nice affect of fresh snow. It is also good for forming little patches in places where the snow would catch and settle.

Logs look great when covered in snow, there's not a lot of point spending too long painting these as they're going to be covered.

I had brushed a bit of white paint on top of the shoulders to help the blizzard paste sit on them. I think this helped the look of the effect as the dry brushing looks like fine frosting.

Now this stuff is new and I have no idea what the results are going to be. Apparently it takes a bit of time to get results, I had tried to test it on the logs but ran out of patience and flocked the base.

A terror stalks the frozen no mans land.

I've added some frost effects to the legs and belly, hopefully it will look good, let's wait and see. Apparently, the solution grows into frosten crystals.

The very last step, again I'm just making this up as I go, is to add a little watered down earth paint around the feet. This is just to add a little definition to the base, so it's not just white.

Infantry support.

The walker next to the Gothic robot.