The Sikh Wars project is starting to pick up speed, with books bought and read and the BIG order from Irregular has arrived and is all sorted and bagged up ready for painting.
I've been dabbling around with these on the painting table for a while as I got some of the figures for my 1st Opium War project, but I got my original order (when I did the Bengal Horse Artillery) slightly wrong, and didn't have all the figures I needed for some units. Now I hope I have.
They have orange facings, this being the first use of the paint I bought at Partizan.
To make the guidon-bearer I took one of the trooper figures, cut off his sabre then carefully bent the arm into place with my mini-pliers, and then snipped the hand off. The pole is my usual plastic broom bristle, glued to boot and hand-stub, before forming the makings of a hand out of glue over the pole. The guidon is based upon the Colonel's colour, drawn on Serif DrawPlus and protected by sellotape (seriously - it works better than varnish).
The officer figure is unchanged.
It's a good enough start.
A new project provides so much joy and hope for things to come. You are off to a good start!
ReplyDeleteQuite so. And how many projects end in the crash of disappointment and the lead/plastic pile as something new is trailed before our eyes? There's no set of rules to come out of this project, as I'll most likely use Taiping Era. So perhaps there'll be a supplement. Or not.
DeleteNice work and a very good start on a very interesting project, looking forward to seeing how this comes together.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Me too. There's quite a bit of trepidation on this one, for reasons that may become apparent later on.
DeleteThey look very nice indeed, there is something very romantic about the Indian Army. Lives of a Bengal Lancer and all that. I'm intrigued by your sellotape flags, what a clever idea, presumably it stops the ink running?
ReplyDeleteBit early for the Bengal Lancers - although I do have some in my 1860 collection. As my figures are glossy I started varnishing flags. That made the ink run, and when I painted them I found that red paint wasn't as "fast" as I'd like. Originally I'd print a page of flag and use clear sticky backed plastic. Then I realised it was wasting a lot of SBP, and actually sellotape was not only cheaper, but adhered better. Funny I've never mentioned this before.
DeleteIf you need a variety of 15mm shields, I believe that the ex Mikes Models ones are still available through Essex miniatures
ReplyDeleteThanks, but I'm committed to the friend who does the 3D printing. And honestly, £2.50 for 8 shields isn't exactly cheap.
DeleteWow, they have gone up in price a lot since I last bought any!
DeleteI will be interested to see the 3D printed shields as I suspect there is a market there
My man says he can do 88x8mm shields on a single plate. Probably cost me more in postage than to pay for the items.
DeleteI very much look forward to see where this one goes. I have some Newline Designs 20mm figures but don't know what to do with them!!
ReplyDeleteSimon
Me too. I'm not sure where it is heading on the rules front at all.
DeleteA good start indeed. I like the idea of 3D printed shields and both flags look good. Good luck with it all. Not helped by 2 of the 3 15mm Sikh Wars being absent.
ReplyDeleteI got a small order from QRF, consisting of some artillery pieces, their Akali pack and the Indian Princes. The website is unnavigable now, and I understand that Geoff is having problems with the new owner, so I won't order anymore. I ordered figures from all sorts of the Irregular ranges, including their Persians, so some of this is going to look a little mix and match. I've taken a lot of inspiration from your excellent blog posts.
DeleteThanks, I'm glad it's proving useful. That's why we write I suppose.
ReplyDeleteOn topic if you don't already own Amarpal Singh's The Second Anglo -Sikh War Naval &Military press have it for £3.99. Here is a link.
www.naval-military-press.com
Yeah, I saw Geoff's note. I hope it is resolved soon. Mind you Geoff is a Barrister by trade. I'm sure he knows what to do.
I think you are right on the first point. Thanks for the tip on the book. Postage is more than the cover price, but it's still a good buy, so I've ordered it. I bought the Helion book "Bright Eyes of Danger" at Campaign. Disappointing so far.
DeleteNot a bother. I got the Ptolemaic Army for a third of the price and a newsletter came with it. Hence my post above.
ReplyDeleteAmarpal is good. I saw Bright Eyes but gave it a swerve. Some instinct.
I did buy The Sikh Soldier which was worth the price for giving us the actual name of the Gorchurra cavalry tactic "Dhal Phat". No one else did.
Good luck with it all.
I have Amarpal's book on the 1st War, so this was an easy choice. I umm'd and ah'd over "Bright Eyes" when I saw it on Dave Lanchester's bookstall at Campaign. In the end I took it in part exchange for some books he took off me after I'd checked out a review that said it was okay. Helion books are so hit and miss.
DeleteThey are indeed. I have had some brilliant books from them and some real stinkers.
ReplyDeleteI think they are improving. The early books were very hit and miss. "Bright Eyes" is from 2015. It's a nice looking hardback, but there are some interesting production decisions. It's printed on standard paper, not the usual glossy, so the colour pictures aren't as good as they could be. Some of the definition on the maps isn't ideal. For example the river names are printed light blue on a yellow background and the fuzziness that comes with picture printing on this sort of paper means you can't always read them. Which is unfortunate for a land with Five Rivers.
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