Zambezi Campaign 20: Naval Brigade Gun and crew

So here is the last fighting unit of the British force: the Naval Brigade Gun and Crew.  It's taken me some time to work out how to handle this and it is something of a compromise solution but I must be getting old as I don't care about total historical accuracy so much, now.  After all, this campaign will have some definitely non-historical elements!

The crew are Mutineer Miniatures Indian Mutiny figures so they are from around forty years too early.  The basic uniform didn't change that much, other than the fact that the later troops would have worn gaiters but as the trousers are the same bell-bottoms maybe they just left their gaiters on board!  These chaps also have a collar, rather than the round collared shirt, but you can barely see that.  The main thing for me was that the size and bulk of the figures are very close to the Copplestone Naval Brigade infantry.  Foundry, for example, had a Zulu Wars period gun crew but they would have been very small in comparison, so I am happier with these.

The gun is also a compromise as it is a French 80mm De Bange (yes, really!) mountain gun, first produced in 1885, so fine for the period.   Our argument here is that either the Royal Navy won it in a game of cards from sailors from a visiting French warship or captured it off a group of slavers.  Whatever, this Askari Miniatures model comes in a pack of two, enabling me to set one up on a mule train, as they were carried in real life.

Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange

The De Bange 80mm mountain gun was one of a series of French artillery pieces designed by Charles Ragon de Bange (1833-1914).  De Bange's claim to fame is that he invented the first effective breech obturator which provided an absolute seal for artillery breech mechanisms for the first time: a system still in use today. The only disadvantage with his guns, as with previous artillery, was that the recoil meant that they had to be re-aimed after every shot, something that wasn't solved until the French 75 in 1898.  Still, this breach loading piece of ordnance, which could fire six kilo explosive shells or shrapnel, would be very effective against slaver compounds.  Firing shells it had a maximum range of 4,300  metres.  It was manufactured by the Societé anonyme des anciens établissements Cail, originally set up by the French engineer Jean-François Cail in 1836.

All the examples I have seen pictures of have an all-over paint finish so I have done mine the same way using a British artillery grey.

Zambezi Campaign 19: Artillery problems solved (or not)!

Naval Brigade Gun crew under way

I only need to paint a Naval Brigade gun and crew to finish my British force but have been held up due to problems in how to do this.  What I need is a Royal Navy gun crew and gun for the paddle boat.  The only suitable Foundry figures came from their old Zulu Wars range and were rather small compared with the Copplestone Darkest Africa ones. Then I saw the new Mutineer Miniatures Naval Gun crew and they seemed just the right size.  Although they come from 1856 not the 1890's there doesn't seem to be much difference in the uniform other than the shirt collar; the later uniform had a collarless shirt.  I did think about trying to carve this off then decided that no-one will notice by the time they are on deck and around the gun.  Anyway maybe they find a shirt with a collar wards off bugs better!

I was then wondering about a gun for them.  An old style naval smoothbore cannon on small wheels wouldn't be right as I wanted to be able to take it off the boat and up country.  Something like the mountain gun fielded by the Arabs and my Force Publique force would be just the job.  It would mean buying a gun with  a redundant crew however.

Meanwhile, I also needed a second gun for my Arab force.  The first one I bought from Foundry was missing the gun barrel and although they replaced the pack very quickly this left me with a crew but no cannon.  I didn't want to have to buy another pack just for the gun barrel.

I thought that both these problems had been solved in one go by looking through the catalogue of a firm I hadn't really looked at before, Askari Miniatures.  They have a pack of two French mountain guns which would give one to the British and one to the Arabs.  However they also have a nice pack of four mules designed to carry one of the guns.  I couldn't resist this so have ordered the guns and the mules although this now leaves the Arabs without their second gun.  Maybe I can make a gun barrel!  I probably need another mule now but may have one somewhere.

I don't know how long the models will take to arrive from the US but at the rate I'm painting they will probably be here before I finish the crew, although I did get started on them today.

Zambezi Campaign 7: Naval Brigade

I have, at last, finished the Naval Brigade for the Zambezi campaign.  In the scenario they are trying to repair their steamboat.  If they do, they reinforce the main infantry force with two small units of six men as well as more food and ammunition.  I have gone for the all white tropical uniforms with sennett hats.  I am contemplating adding one or two annoying civilians to the steamer's passenger list; probably a female reporter, loosely based on the faintly unbelievable character in the John Wilcox novels.  This is merely so I have an excuse to paint a few more character figures, which is helping me not get bored with the unit painting.

Here is the first Naval Brigade unit commanded by a junior lieutenant.  I wasn't sure about painting black edging around the brim of the seamen's hats.  Some pictures I have seen have them and some don't.  In the end I went for not, based on this, as it is an actual photograph rather than an illustration or a re-enactors recreation.

Below is the second unit of six, commanded by a midshipman.  These Copplestone Castings figures are on the large side but as the proportions are the same as his Foundry figures it is not too noticeable.

The scenario doesn't list one but I thought they needed a commanding officer so have painted up Lieut. Troutbridge here. 

He'll add a few points to the Naval side but a few more troops on the Arab side will balance him out.  Finally, I felt that the gunboat would need a captain so here is Capt Rufus Copperfield.  Sidelined to the rusting heap that is the paddleboat Queen Charlotte, because of an unfortunate incident with an unmarried lady in a railway carriage, he is determined to take his revenge on the diabolical Arab slavers, or The Press, as he prefers to call them.  The rumours that a reporter is due to join his voyage upriver does not fill him with pleasure.

Next up are the Sikhs!

Zambezi Campaign 6: Rev MacSporran

Apart from the larger units, the Gary Chalk scenarios require a number of characters as well.  Although I am proceeding well on the Naval Brigade I have to go to Turkey this week so won't get them finished until (hopefully) this weekend.  They are nearly done but the collars of the sailors require, in total, 90 very fine white lines and this is taking almost as long as the rest of the painting!

So, in the meantime, I painted the Scottish reverend I need for one of the scenarios.  Chalk calls him Rev McKenzie but I have named mine Angus MacSporran after someone I met once. You wouldn't have thought that such a name could possibly be real but it certainly is!

I think I might give him a wife, as there is a perfect Foundry figure in one of my boxes.  He is a non-combatant so it doesn't matter, from a scenario point of view, if there are two figures rather than one.

The next figures I have based and undercoated are the Sikhs.  You only need six but I got eight in my Foundry pack so will paint them all anyway.

I have also started work on the British standard bearer and I found an extra unpainted British askari who will be the leader of the unit of 14 local levy askaris.

Zambezi Campaign 5: Starting the Naval Brigade

The Naval Brigade under way as of this morning.  I have shaded their uniforms and blocked in the coloured collars, gaiters and rifles today.

I managed to do a few hours on my next unit, the Royal Baval Brigade, today.  Amazingly I have managed to stay focussed on this project for several weeks now!  I think the good thing is that the units are quite small and there is enough variety in troop types that if I get bored with one I can do a bit on another.

A Royal Navy silor in tropical uniform.  White tops were more common in Southern Africa

Naval troops were fairly active in Africa (outside of the main areas of action such as Egypt and the Sudan) towards the end of the nineteenth century particularly against the Somalis and Swahili towns in the eighteen nineties.  Troops involved were a mixture of armed ratings and Royal Marines but for this force I will be just using the sailors. 

A turn of the century Naval sennet hat.  The black trim seems not to have been worn in the earlier period.

As I start to paint the sailors I realise that these figures come from Copplestone Castings "big" period when some of his figures got really huge (something to do with the prescription for his glasses, apparently).  I'm usually bothered about this sort of thing but as they are in the same style, naturally, as the Foundry figures it doesn't look so bad and, after all, the Arabs and natives probably weren't so well fed!

Royal Navy sailors in Egypt in 1882

Uniforms of sailors at this time were blue but those in tropical climes also wore white with blue collars and black neckerchiefs.  I have already painted a Naval Brigade unit with the blue uniforms and round hats for the Sudan so wanted a different look for these. I am contemplating painting some of the officers with blue coats just for a bit of variety.

My Sudan Naval Brigade figures

Leather equipment was black, with khaki gaiters.  Sailors did wear the round hat in Africa but the broad brimmed sennet hat, known as a benjy, was far more common and was, looking at contemporary illustrations, worn with the brim turned up, exactly as Mr Copplestone has sculpted them.

Royal Navy sailors having a spot of bother in Africa in 1894

He has included the distinctive sword bayonets in their scabbards but I would probably have preferred the figures to have fixed bayonets.  Also, for some strange reason, he does not include water bottles; something of a neccessity in Africa, I would have thought.

Both types of uniforms as demonstrated on some Britains figures

I have quite a busy week this week but hope to get them finished next weekend.  Then its on to the Sikhs, who arrived from Foundry this week and who I have just filed and based.

Zambezi Campaign 3: Identifying some more figures

The British Askaris on the workbench

Progress is slow but steady on the British askaris.  The standard of my painting from eight or nine years ago is pretty woeful as it was before I realised that I needed glasses!  As a result, I am re-painting most parts of them.  The only thing I will leave is the khaki uniforms but will add some lowlights and highlights to sharpen them up a bit.  I have also started the six figures I bought on eBay recently.  This will give me 26 Askaris so with two Sikh NCOs that is 28 figures.  The scenario only calls for 16 figures so that will give me ten spare.  Either I will up the numbers of the figures proportionately for everyone or, more likely, I will devise a scenario requiring extra re-inforcements.

The total British forces required under the scenario are as follows:

Expeditionary force

Unit of 8 regular askaris

Unit of 8 regular askaris

Unit of 6 Sikhs

Unit of 14 local levies

1 standard bearer

1 Officer

Relief Force

Unit of 6 sailors

Unit of 6 sailors

One gunboat

However I am going to modify them somewhat.

Firstly, I will add a second officer to the expeditionary force.  The scenario allows for the substitution of a second in command if the leading officer is killed.  I think that this is a bit silly if he is not with the initial force in the first place. It adds 28 points to the British force but that isn't many to add to the others. 

The Royal Navy contingent filed and based

I have found that I have enough figures for the naval force and will add an officer to that.  I will also paint a figure for the Gunboat captain.  I will need a gun and crew for the gunboat as my paddle boat is unarmed.  Foundry make a set of Naval gunners and a fieled gun in their Zulu War range and although they will be much smaller than the rather large Copplestone sailors the look is similar so I will probably go with those.

Foundry Naval gunners