20mm Sudan British

The British army has arrived from Newline Designs today. The actual figures are very nice and considering they're 20mm, are very well sculpted and detailed. It's nice to see there isn't much 'flash' to clean away.

I always find it frustrating when  companies don't have photos of their stock, so buying a range of figures feels like it's pot luck.

However, the few codes which do have photos does give you an indication for the quality to be expected. Judging from what I could make out I took a gamble and ordered a starter force. I have their Little Bighorn range so i knew their quality was quite good. I think it's called blind faith.

It's a little like their starter army deals too, there's no list of what you get, so you just have to take a chance. Luckily, starting from scratch you can't really go too far wrong, as every is going to be useful and not doubled up.

I ordered a few extra packets of figures that were put into the box so things did get a little confusing. Here to the best of my memory is what comes in a British starter force.

Two packs of twenty infantry, one is loading and kneeling, the other is loading and firing.

Six mounted camel corps ( No dismounted)

Two screw guns with crew, one 6 lb cannon with crew, one gattling gun with Naval Brigade crew.

Four dead infantry.

Twelve Naval Brigade at advance.

Nine lancers.

It's a nice starting force and I was glad to see some Naval guys in there as I had planned to get some from their Zulu wars range. Also the screw guns and Naval gattling gun was a nice touch. I was hoping one would be in there, after all ...' we have Maxim, they have not". So it's a must really.

Here is my cunning plan to crank through these guys. Using an tip shown to me by my old friend Simon Miller, I mounted them on old Jenga blocks. There will be two rows of eight figures on four 50mm bases, so I need eight of these blocks.

The 'Up the Nile' rules also has separate officers for the regiments, so these were created by using two figures on a 30mm base.

The first thing I did was to mix all the poses up and threw in the extra packs I had bought too. It's something that would have made a teenage me giddy, but in my old age I have learnt many things about collecting armies. Mix them all up with as many poses as you can on one base, this looks so much more realistic. I learnt this lesson with my ACW collections.

The look I'm going for with my British is one of organised chaos. Yes they are in line or square, but there are officers and the odd Naval guy running around too. There is tension in the ranks and this will hopefully come out in the finished bases.

The regiment aboard it's temporary steamer about to set off down the Nile.

I always liked the idea of starting an army in 20mm when I saw Newline's ranges. The trouble was I had started everything I wanted in 28mm. However, I'm glad to say I hadn't really got anywhere with the Sudan so it was up for collecting. The 'Up the Nile' rules was the excuse I needed and off I went full steam ahead.

The six camels for the camel corps, it's a nice starting point but I'm going to need some more with a pack of dismounted troops too.

Screw guns.
 

Straight into the garden and undercoated with Desert yellow. This was a tip I carried with me from painting my North West Frontier forces.

I did try another lighter colour called Desert tan, this was a good match for the Khaki. However, I knew what I was doing with the Desert yellow so went back to that. It's too late for trying new colours, I just need to crank through these, so I'm sticking to the old tried and tested method.

The Naval Brigade in the Sudan often wore hats to protect against the African sun. This in mind, I cut the sailors hat off this figure and stuck on a plastic one from the Perry's ACW plastic box. This just adds a bit more of a Sudan feel to the Naval unit.

These are the two paints used for an undercoat, after some thought I went back and sprayed everything in the Desert yellow. This will be dry brushed with Foundry Drab 'B' and they highlighted with Drab 'C'. This gives a very nice khaki drill colour. 

Some of the troops straight from India could have a slightly darker Khaki, but you can get this by using washes.

Here is the sailor with his new hat. It's close enough and should look okay when painted up as straw.

Good old Desert yellow saves the day again, It's Sudan in a tin!

Update: Ive just had way too much fun painting these little chaps. I tried a few new things too from my old method, namely washing the figure with a darker wash to bring out the details.

I knew my greatcoat grey paint would finally come in handy for something.

The helmets were given a coat of washed down flesh wash too when I came to do the flesh colours.It just gives them a stained look.

I still need to go over the straps on the greatcoat etc again in white but these are basically done. I think I spent a bit too long on them as I was trying new stuff out. Now I have it all done, hopefully I can blast through them.

I really enjoyed getting some colours onto these figures.

I kept forgetting this poor guy on the floor...

Couldn't help myself on passing the sandpit... 

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.