Sudan - more Nile Navy and supply train

Participation in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is giving me a great boost in getting my teeth into this project.  Since January when I started, I've covered one of the large really useful boxes and am now building levels so I can get more layers into the box considering the relative height of these 10mm miniatures.

A bit of mixture of units for the Sudan game this week:

• more for the Nile Navy
• baggage train 
• British mule trains for the guns and maxims

After the papyrus rafts of last week, I now doing the remaining two types of vessels that I have for the locals on the Nile. I have a few more of each of these - but wanted to paint some as a proof of concept and to get the colours right. So we have a ‘dhow’ and two rafts. Like the papyrus boats, these are actually 15mm and are from Museum Miniatures.

Next up is the beginnings of a baggage train - like all the other 10mm stuff they are from Pendraken.

I’ve got two different mule trains for guns from the Pendraken North-West frontier range. Three bases are Maxim Gun teams (standing in for Gatling Guns) and the others are a Mountain Gun teams with an extra base as they included three extra barrel mules. These will stand in for any British Artillery battery - even though I have limbers to do.

The actual baggage is made up of native porters and baggage camels. 

Next will be artillery and Mahdist cavalry. 

Sudan - Nile papyrus canoes and native troops

All native forces this post. I need to get these done in large numbers as there are large numbers of them to get done. This week’s efforts will take me to approx 15% of the Mahdist troops that I have to paint.

Firstly, a few Nile river papyrus boats that are for nothing other than looking at. When I eventually make a Nile River I have a range of vessels and assorted pieces to make vignettes along the edge of the river. The other key point is that the river will not be BLUE. These are actually 15mm models from the Museum Miniatures range - but they are small enough and kneeling helps with them fit in.

Then we have the first of the Ansari foot troops. In addition to the spears and swords that all of the others have, these also had rifles.

Then I am back onto the Hadendowa warriors - bases of 10 figures each with a few hand-painted flags. No-one would have any success in translating the writing on the flags - I am going for the effect :)

Sudan - just a quick shot showing the look I am going for

A few shots “setting the scene” with work done over the past few weeks. Going to need more ‘bad guys’ and resting camels when the square gets four sides.

Sudan - 21st Lancers and first British Infantry

This week’s efforts have been exclusively British. I enjoyed painting the 10th Hussars previously so I pushed the 21st Lancers up the painting queue and past the various native troops that had been prepared and awaiting their turn on the painting table.

So we start with the 21st Lancers. Nothing too much to say about them other than they painted quite easily. I did experiment with putting some lance pennons on - but making, cutting out the swallow tail and gluing them on would have been a punishment the Spanish Inquisition would have been proud of. So I stayed with the small red tassle (or something) that was cast at the top of the lance.

Then we move to the first of my British Infantry - two battalions worth.

Remember I noted at the outset that I was mixing up the units that appeared in theatre and was not building for a specific year or campaign. In keeping with this relaxed approach, I know the British stopped taking their colours into the field a few years before the Sudan campaigns started - in 1881 during the Boer War. However, colours are colours and they make these units stand out - especially the khaki on the desert bases. After all, I am going to be playing a game - not making a documentary :)

So first we have the 1st Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment. They are dressed in khaki and will be the way a few more units are painted. A bit of googling showed me that the Regiment was formed in 1881 from an amalgamation of the 65th and 84th Regiments of Foot. As I could easily get my hands on Napoleonic Wars colours, I picked those of the 65th which were the most pleasant to my eye of the two.

Then we have the first of what I plan to be two battalions of red coated infantry. These ones are the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment. This regiment was formed from the 38th and 80th Regiments of Foot (as well as various Militia units) and I've used the colours of the 80th Regiment here as I could get my them easily. While the British Army had largely switched from sending the red coated troops into battle, the rush to get units into the Sudan meant they arrived in various uniforms. It is reported that this battalion wore red coats at Battle of Kirbekan on 10 February 1885.

Sudan resting camels and 10th Hussars

Next up for the Sudan are some resting camels and the British 10th Hussar regiment for the Sudan.

The camels will be for the centre of the square formed by the dismounted Camel Regiments when they go into action.

Again the figures are 10mm Pendraken. I have changed the dry brush colour used on the bases and while I don’t think it is apparent in photos, I am much happier that it gives a good compromise between the cloth I will be using (the third photo below is the closest representation) and the greyer colour that I have seen of the land in photos. I am also forming the view that I need to look for some dry bush tufts to give a bit of a lift to my basing for the project.

Resting Camels

British 10th Hussars

The start of a Sands of Sudan project

The first units of a new Sudan project. 

It is a 10mm project using the figures from Pendraken. I am not going to slavishly stick to one of the various campaigns in the Sudan - so over time there will be red, khaki and grey coated British infantry, Egyptians, cavalry and the Desert Column (which makes an appearance today).

I intend to use the Sands of Sudan rules published by Carlo Pagano based on the work of Peter Gilder. One of the attractions of the rules (especially with the 10mm figures) is that the units are large - 60 or 72 figure British Infantry battalions for instance and 48 camels in the Desert Column regiments.

I have plans for various desert buildings / huts, oasis, Khartoum and its walls as well as a ‘Nile’ with all that should accompany it - paddle steamers, native boats and of course a crocodile. I may paint some of the terrain during the challenge (once I get to 1200 points goal).

First up then are some Beja warriors - and I have discovered how hard it is to photograph 10mm figures, especially when they are dark skinned.

Then the first of three Desert Column camel regiments for the British - there will eventually also be Mahdist, sitting and baggage camels.