The second anniversary of my blog

Firstly, happy new year. It’s two years since my first post here, and what a couple of years we have all had. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic I have collected some 5,794 page views and six followers, although I cannot imagine that these six are responsible for all those page views. Limits to personal freedom and movement weren’t all bad though, as these circumstances enncouraged downtime focused on my Sudan project.

I thought it time to take stock. I work slowly, seeming to spend a lot of time on research and modelling (the Gatling gun limber model is a very good example of this), and not enough time actually painting miniatures.

All the same, I seem to have got quite a bit done, including a handful of scenic items comprising buildings, a fortification, supplies, barricades, trees, shrubs, and thorn bush.

The Mahdists are ahead in terms of finished miniatures, with a rub comprising a camel mounted band, two bands armed with spears and swords, a band armed with rifles, and a command group. Another rifle-armed band and a brass gun battery are finished (both destined to join the main command group. (I don’t think ‘flags’ as such were a form of organisation deployed by Osman Digna.)

Within a few weeks I should have added another Naval Brigade contingent (from HMS Hecla) and a RMLI company (from HMS Carysfort) to the Empire forces.

My first rub, which I have dubbed the Blue Rub because of the blue accent to the flags.

Mahdist brass gun battery; it’s very likely that the guns were spoils of the disastrous Hicks Pasha expedition.

A second rifle-armed band.

Naval Brigade contingent with Gatling gun battery, deployed by HMS Carysfort. Colonel Fred Burnaby is ready for anything at the front, while Melton Prior sketches at the rear.

Medical Staff Corps Number 3 Field Hospital.

A strong point built to protect the construction of the Suakin to Berber railway … a whole other project waiting in the wings.

Three buildings at this scale seems like plenty … but we shall see.

Strongpoint

Once I had based the model and added sand, flock, and tufts, it came to life in a very satisfying way.

Amongst other things, I am working on a water wagon, supplies stockpile, and mimosa bush to accompany this piece, and form what I think will be a fairly a substantial position.

The completed model with a Naval Brigade contingent, and the water wagon (Empress Miniatures) and supplies stockpile (Skytrex).

Strongpoint and HMS Hecla’s Naval Brigade

Uncharacteristically rapid progress with the conversion of the Afghan tower, and the Suakin strongpoint is pretty much done. It just needs basing. I’ll work out how to populate it later.

The energy spilled over into the next Empire units, Vice-Admiral Hewett and a couple of officers, and a 20 figure Naval Brigade company from HMS Hecla. These fellows are wearing sennet hats, usefully contrasting the company from HMS Carysfort. I’m looking forward to painting them, in tandem with the RMLI company.

But first I must finish the Hadendowa camel band (just needs basing), a band of rifle armed warriors, two bands of spear and sword armed warriors, and the Rub command group.

I’m really quite pleased with the way this turned out. Now it just needs basing.

The second Naval Brigade company, this one is from HMS Hecla.

Stongpoint: beginning to look the part

I have snatched an hour or two over the last couple of days to paint, shade, and highlight the strongpoint model.

The sandbags need finishing, and the bars on the door, a bit of tidying up (stray dry-brush bristles that need plucking from the surface, mostly), a little retouching, then base and we’re done. Not too shabby, and quicker than most of my work to-date.

Not too shabby … looking the part.

Strongpoint: more progress

I made a bit more progress with the strongpoint, assembling the platforms and fixing them to the upper section of the tower.

Inevitably some adjustment was required, and a couple of extra narrow planks to fill spaces, but it begins to look the way I imagined that it might.

The strongpoint model, and some the fortifications it is based on.

Strongpoint: progress

I set to work on the conversion of the Afghan tower. The most difficult part was the reduction of the height of the upper section, which required careful work with a junior hacksaw, followed by a lot of sanding. Being resin, a face mask was required … not that it felt that much different from the day-to-day of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Work on the hourd followed: planking for the deck, shorter vertical planking for the waist-high railing, and short stout beams to support the entire assembly. All made from balsa wood. The hourd will be mounted just below the door in the upper section.

The tension between modeller and gamer surfaced once more when considering the width of the deck. I base individual figures on a 30mm square MDF tile, with a magnetic base. A deck around 30mm wide would have looked absurdly out of scale. The deck is 20mm wide, so I have resolved that the strongpoint’s garrison figures on will most likely either have minimal bases or be glued on to the model. The modeller within will triumph.

The parts of the hourd, and a dry run with Renedra sandbags.

Suakin–Berber railway strongpoint

In an earlier post [link] I said that I planned to make a small strongpoint of the kind built to protect the construction of the Suakin to Berber railway. In the meantime I discovered a model of an Afghan tower, made by Studio Miniatures, which appeared to have all the features I needed for the basis of my model.

While it will need some modifications and additions, in particular an external platform at the level of the mid-level door, it already looks the part.

Studio Miniatures’ resin Afghan tower.

Painting, basing, and sketching

I’ve had a mixed day today, but it feels like proper progress. I’ll allow the photos to speak for themselves.

The wet palette is just brilliant! Paint from two days ago is still usable, and the Naval Brigade Gatling gun crews are finally ready for shading.

Based figures, goats, and trees with base coat. I reminded myself that it’s much easier if the figure’s bases are painted prior to fixing to the MDF bases. In fact, I think I will paint the figure’s bases first in future.

I made a quick sketch of the strongpoint to get a sense of its size. The observation tower is the tallest part, almost half of the total height. It’s not really a very large piece in terms of its ‘footprint’, just very high. I may consider a lower tower, say half the height shown here. 28mm miniature for scale.

First impressions of the wet palette, and another modelling project

I had a a bit of time to prepare and use my new wet palette today. So far, so good.

The instructions suggest soaking the sponge with distilled water, not having any in the house and keen to get started, I used filtered water instead, and so far this seems to be fine. The paint stays wet and workable, which is a pleasure, and I can see that blending colours will be a lot easier too. It’s size is just perfect for my workspace.

In other news, I have been reading a bit about the Suakin to Berber railway, discovering a piece on William Edge, who was involved with the work in 1885, and an old post on a German blog that I follow (which is in German, but Google Translate is your friend). Apart from being better informed, I have decided that it would be interesting to model one of the forts built to protect the railway while work progressed, or didn’t.

Links
William Edge
The Berber Railway – in Sudan

The first Naval Brigade figures near completion, and the wet palette had something to do with it. I improved the appearance of the flap collar by painting the light blue on the underside and edges, giving the single white stripe a light blue border.

One of the strongpoints built along the route of the railway. This will make for a nice model and a perfect wargames scenario.