Major Ballsup's Hobby Shed

Well here we are then the last of the figures for the First Anglo-Sikh War project. These are the British Generals from Newline Designs in 20mm.  A characterful trio they are too. These were very enjoyable to paint.  I based the generals' colours on "Night bivouac of the British Army at Ferozeshah, 21 December 1845", an image I found online from the National Army Museum's fine website.    Apart from sorting out unit flags and improving on the movement trays that is it for this project for the moment.  I've got a brigade of infantry, regiment of cavalry, supporting artillery and commanding officers for both sides and that's enough to have a game with.  

After what seems an age working on them I finally finished the regiment of Bengal Light Cavalry. This is a unit of 12, consisting of six sabre wielding troopers, 3 with lances and a command of an officer, trumpeter and standard bearer (for which I need to sort out the standard).  All 20mm Newline Designs and the last unit I had to complete from the order that came in March.   Once I got into these I really enjoyed doing them.  As with all of this project I relied heavily on the Internet as a resource.  It dawned on me that this is the only conflict which I collect/game where I don't own any books.  That's very unusual for me as I love a book.  Perhaps it reflects there's not too many reference works out there, or more likely a reflection of my ignorance of them. I have three, yes three figures to paint for this project and then it's done.  Well at least it is for the moment.

The latest figures completed for the Anglo-Sikh Wars projects were a couple of packs of Sikh Akalis (zealots).  Apologies for the photos, the light this week has been one extreme or another, with some unbearably sunny days and some incredibly dull days. As usual the figures were from Newline Designs in 20mm scale.  I thought that these were particular nice sculpts and very easy to paint.   I really liked the figures below.  The sculptor has done a really good job, they're pleasingly realistically proportioned, unlike so many figures you see that look like they've been on vast doses of steroids.  That's all the Sikh figures finished for the moment.  I've got some EIC Native Cavalry and British Generals to do and that's it for this project, or until I buy a load more of course which you can never rule out of course.

Hot on the hooves of the Sikh Dragoons and Anglo-Indian artillery I completed three bases of Sikh artillery. The painting of the crews was straightforward and these were actually  done a few weeks ago, but I was trying to work out what size bases to use and then had to order them which took time. Once the bases came I finished basing and texturing them at the same time as the Anglo-Indian bases.  A combination of a busy week and prevaricating about what colours to paint the cannons meant I only got round to finishing them the weekend just gone.

Last August I completed a unit of nine Sikh Dragoons to which I’ve just added another three figures. This brings them up to full strength for Black Powder. As usual all 20mm Newline Designs.  These were part of the largish order that came in March.  Simple job to turn these around as I had made notes on all the colours and steps I'd used when I painted the initial batch.   Here they are with the rest of the regiment.

With the arrival of the bases I've been able to finish the artillery for the Anglo-Indian force.  As per the rest of the collection figures are 20mm Newline Designs. The bases are 60mm x 60mm from Hocka Hey/Timeline Miniatures, tufts mainly from Tajima, with a few from some eBay source I can't remember added for a bit of variety. There's a crew each of Bengal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery.  The BHA were great fun to paint with their gaudy uniforms.  It's the nearest I've come to painting Napoleonics 😁 By contrast the Royal Artillery were simple and quick to paint.  If I wanted multiple batteries of artillery they'd be what I'd choose. And to finish a close up of each base.

This week I finished off another regiment of East India Company Sepoys for the First Anglo-Sikh War. As usual all figures are 20mm Newline Designs.  This is the third regiment (two EIC Sepoy, one Sikh) that I've completed this year.  I've noticed a pattern: when I start slapping the paint on a unit I'm enthused; then about half way in I get a bit overawed by the effort involved and the repetitive painting; and then by the time I'm doing the last details I get a second wind and go back and do a fair few refinements.  This was the last large unit left out of the lead pile and I'm quite relieved by that.   As with all the Newline figures I've done they paint up very well.  When I placed the order I asked Sean for an extra standard bearer which he duly sent.  The first Sepoy regiment only has the one.  I'm not sure whether I'll bother buying a command pack just to get the one figure.  As it is I still need to sort out the standards, those shown ...

I completed a few more 20mm Newline Designs British Infantry last week.  These will be skirmishers out in front of the rest of the regiment shown here .  I did the research and documented everything when I painted the main unit, so it was a straight forward job to do these. The thinking is always the hard part.  They look a bit shiny in the photos but they don't in real life.  As with all the Newline stuff I've had they've been enjoyable to paint with a good balance between enough detail and not too much. 

Quite an unproductive week on the hobby front, too much going on in the rest of my world.  Gaming I had a couple of hours free and I didn't feel like working on anything so I had a game.  I played Ambush Alley set in Algeria, not as you might have expected in the 1950s/60s but in the 1880s.  Read about it here .   Painting/modelling   I did manage to get some hills cut out, textured and and a base coat done.  They will be used for Algeria and Mediterranean games.   I'll do a post on how I made these once they're complete.  It's early days and as seen in the photo I'm still trying to get the colour scheme right! Research The only benefit of having to commute again is more reading time.  This week I read "At the Edge of the World" about the French Foreign Legion from 1830 to 1930.  An enjoyable read, nowhere near as in-depth as Martin Windrow's marvellous "Our Friends Beneath the Sands", (which is double the size) but well w...

I enjoyed my first Ambush Alley game set in French Indo-China so much ( read here ) that I decided to quickly follow it up.  I also wanted to see how flexible the rules were, so I went back in time to the 1880s and the days of the Armée d'Afrique.  You can download the full scenario details and rules  amendments  here . Mission Brief A patrol from the Armée d'Afrique is returning to base after a fruitless search for Algerian bandits.  Having spent days chasing shadows and now thoroughly exhausted they are on the last few miles of their journey.  Is it at this point that the Algerians decide to show themselves.   French (Regular) Mission Objective  The French must exit the table from the north table edge. The French are exhausted, and morale is low in the Tirailleurs Algériens.  The Legion just want to wash the dust from their throats.  It is important to return to base in good order, keep losses to a minimum and leave no one behind!...