Anglo-Zulu War Correspondent

 

War Correspondents were important in informing the public of the trials and tribulations of the ordinary soldier, failings of command as well the battles the occurred in the far distant parts of the empire. I've included this 28mm miniature set from Colonel Bills to represent a war correspondent in the Anglo-Zulu War, the intention is to provide a nice bit of table dressing or an objective. War photography was very much in its infancy during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879,  most pictures are portraits of leaders and groups of soldiers pre and post conflict. Battlefield photography was rare and would have consisted of post battle shots of  the dead prior to burial, despite this I decided on including a cameraman to represent an Anglo-Zulu War correspondent for easy distinction on the table top, and because I liked the model. During the Anglo-Zulu War the war correspondent Archibald Forbes famously reported on the death of Louis Napoleon Prince Imperial of France, a story which reportedly caused more distress than the defeat at Isandlwana!

Source: Best, B. Archibald Forbes - War Correspondent https://www.anglozuluwar.com/images/Journal_6/J6f_Archibald_Forbes.pdf

Hobby News

I'm often late to the party and this can be illustrated by my finally getting my hands on a copy of Commands and Colours as a present for my Birthday. I've always wanted to play this system, so it was a very welcome present. I'm contemplating adding 6mm figures instead of the blocks. 

Also arrived yesterday hot off the press is Lion Rampant version 2, I'm also looking forward to giving this a got one of my friends is a keen fan of these rules. Arriving at the same time was a set of wargaming rules for knights at tournament, Steel and Steed, which I picked up for the princely sum of £1 from the Northstar bargain basement. I'm planning on doing this in 15mm as I have some figures in the lead pile I can use, it also fits into my club portable game remit and should fit on a 2ft x 2ft board; ideal for those winter nights when I don't want to carry much. 

I've also included a shot of painted figures being based, these include the Mycenaean spearmen and archers, some 15mm Italian Wars and some skeletons for Mortal Gods Mythic.

Mounted Infantry Anglo-Zulu War

28mm Mounted Infantry for the Anglo-Zulu War. Figures are from Empress Miniatures, and include mounted, dismounted and horse holder with horses. I have a number of small detachments of mounted in my collection, the idea was to build various scenarios with each player commanding a detachment. I've been very fortunate over the years to have played a number of excellent Anglo-Zulu war games, and always thought that they worked particularly well for multiplayer games with the Zulus being managed by an Umpire. 

Hoping by the next post to return to the Bronze Age. 

The Gorgons - Euryale

 

First addition to the Cursed Host of Hera is the Gorgon Euryale, a 28mm model from Footsore Miniatures for Mortal Gods Mythic. The Gorgons were Theno (Stheno), Euryale and Medusa and were reportedly the offspring of the mother and father of all monsters in Greek Mythology, Echidna and Typhon. Interestingly Theno and Euryale were immortal and Medusa was mortal. The reason for this might be that Medusa had different parents and was considered to be the offspring of Phorkys and Keto and not Echidna and Typhon; more on Medusa in another post. The Gorgons are part snake, ugly with snakes for hair and anyone foolish enough to  gaze into their eyes would turn into stone. I will be looking at modelling some hapless victims for scenery from spare Greek miniatures I have in the lead pile. Another famous offspring of Echidna and Typhon was Cerberus the guardian of the gate to the Underworld. Sadly, Cerberus is currently not included in the Mortal Gods Mythic game, but I do have a rather lovely resin model to paint that I picked up from Bad Squidoo Games, and I'm hoping that a card and rules for Cerberus will be added at some point.  The remaining Gorgons are on the painting table. 

The Bronze Age project has suffered some delays due to work and the weather, but I managed to finish a large batch of figures this afternoon. I'm hoping to start basing them up tomorrow, so it shouldn't be too long before they make an appearance on the blog.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Gorgons/gorgons.html

Naval Brigade - Anglo-Zulu War

 

28mm Naval Brigade detachment for the Anglo-Zulu War British from Empress Miniatures. The Naval Brigade had a strength of 863 men and saw active service in the Anglo-Zulu war, for the warmer they offer a variation on the red coated infantry of the British army. The Naval Brigade was formed from men from the Active, Shah, Tenedos and Boadicea. 

I opted for a unit of 16 men and Royal Navy Gatling gun and crew. The figures wear straw hats and represent a detachment from HMS Shah, an iron clad frigate built in 1873. 

Interestingly, HMS Shah had seen action in 1877 against the Peruvian Huasca (an armoured turret ship), which had seized coal from British ships, an act viewed by Admiral de Horsey as Piracy. A three hour engagement followed which ended when the Huasca reached the safety into harbour and surrendered to the Peruvian navy. The Huasca had been seized by Nicholas de Pierola who became President of Peru following the engagement with HMS Shah having been elevated to the status of a national hero. In the following wave of anti-British feeling HMS Shah was ordered home in disgrace. On the journey home after learning of the defeat of Isandlwana HMS Shah transported the 88th Regiment (Connaught Rangers), No. 8 Battery and the 7th Brigade of Royal Artillery from the garrison of St Helena to South Africa. These joined Chelmsfords column set for the relief of Eshowe and saw action the Battle of Gingindlovu on 2nd April 1879. This was to be the last action that the men of the Naval Brigade saw, a subsequent attachment to the coastal column under General Henry Crealock saw them used to build and man forts and protecting the supply routes. For a more detailed account of the Naval Brigade please refer to the excellent account of the The Naval Brigade in Zululand by Brian Best. 

Source: B. Best (n.d.) The Naval Brigade in Zululand https://www.anglozuluwar.com/images/Journal_5/4)_The_Naval_Brigade_in_Zululand_-_BB.pdf

Mycenaean Skirmishers

I'm fortunate to be off work for a couple of days, and wanting to make some progress with my Bronze Age project. The challenge is what to do as temperatures reach the high 20's, as I write it's already 26 degrees C and rising. I might have a go at assembling chariots for the various Bronze Age armies, I think it might be too hot to paint, but sticking models together might be possible. 

 

Below are a mixture of Slingers and Archers for my Mycenaean army based as skirmishers. All the figures are 28mm Wargames Foundry. I’m still working on the Newline Designs contingent, and itching to get them finished, based and pictures posted on the blog. I’m also keen to complete the Mycenaean army and get cracking with the New Kingdom Egyptians. In the meantime, I do have a few posts ready to keep the blog ticking along until I have more Bronze Age updates.