Colonel Fred Burnaby Belligerent!

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

What can one say about Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby? He joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1859 no doubt that he was 6'4", 15 Stones and boasted a 47inch chest all being to his advantage but finding little chance for active service he was ideal Shooting Leave material known for being the first person to cross the channel in a hot air balloon an activity he exported to Spain and Russia. He was larger than life in an age of Victorian heroes who were larger than life. He is famed for riding to the Khanate of Kiva on an unofficial mission to detect if possible the latest Russian moves in the Great Game. He spoke seven languages and was correspondent for The Times with the Carlist forces in Spain.

He's one of those larger than life characters that looms above anyone interested in the Sudan or indeed other Victorian wars. That he made his own way to the Sudan in the first place gives us a hint into his character. to leave Fred Burnaby out of the Sudan just wouldn't be doing his name or indeed wargaming the Sudan a great disservice.

I've put together my version of Burnaby at the Second Battle of El Teb, shortly after gunning down several Ansar with his shotgun. Hopefully it catches something of the real man in a tight situation braving it out.

Bye for now

Perry Miniatures Converted Mounted Infantry at El Teb

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

So, there I was studying the Blood on the Nile lists for El Teb when I realised that Perry Miniatures did not do any Mounted Infantry that were, well, mounted. Converting what was available was to be the only answer.

After asking a few questions on the net I was just about ready to go. I ordered three packs of British Camel Corp in total, one of the command and two of the riflemen. That was the troopers covered. I ordered two packs of the 10th Hussars so they would be supplied with mounts. I used Mike Snooks excellent book and guide to the uniforms of the British, Egyptian and Mahdists from the appendix of Go Strong into the Desert  to gather all the information regarding the uniforms of the Mounted Infantry that fought at El Teb.

As to the conversions, it was really a matter of persuading the models that had been designed to fit onto camels to sit nicely on the horses. This was much more of a task than I had first envisaged. Some of the saddles had a little putty inserted but all in all, with the filing of the troopers and the saddles most of them fit quite snugly in the end.

The painting process was quite a long (but not laborious) one as it was new territory for me and I didn't want to get anything wrong on such a project. In the end I think that they're turned out quite nicely and I'm a little proud of my efforts.

And here they are, the light wasn't great so I may retake the pics and add a few of the individual bases whilst I'm at it- so, as they say, watch this space:

Bye for now.

It's arrived!! BP- Blood on the Nile!! And a Free Fred Burnaby!!

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

I guess that I've let the goose out of the bag  but here are my first impressions of the book and the Perry Fred Burnaby mini that came free with the order from Perry Miniatures.

Firstly, the book is lavishly illustrated with diorama style pics of beautiful that really capture a glimpse of what some of the action Perry Miniatures with some cameo appearances from Foundry Miniatures, Empress Miniatures (?), Castaway Arts (?) and a few others I spotted that I did not recognise.  As I've said, the photo's are all set up vignette style and give a flavour of the action that's lacking in some rulebooks. Overall, the production quality in on a par with most of Warlord's black Powder, Hail Caesar products but this one seems especially good.

I ordered from the Perry's as I was really taken by the free mini of Fred Burnaby at the Battle of Abu Klea. This miniature is very understated considering the gallant and somewhat futile mess he got himself into during the battle that lead to his untimely demise. I really love this figure and getting an early casting is certainly worthwhile as the quality is always better no matter who you order the miniatures from.

Colonel Frederic Gustavus Burnaby was a very interesting man....  He joined the Royal Horse Guards at a young age and was prone to searching out any reason to go on Shooting Leave, but of a life of adventure. He was a pioneer of ballooning for example as well as travelling through Spain and Russia. His Russian adventures are described in his book, A Ride to Kiva.

In 1879 he began to develop an interest in politics and ran unsuccessfully for Birmingham as a Tory Democrat. He is noted as crossing the English Channel in a hot air balloon (certainly a more successful enterprise than his political career!) and by 1882 was on active service involved in the Egyptian Campaign and later in the Sudan. He fought at the battle of El Teb and acted as political officer to General Valentine Baker. He met his death fighting in a heroic attempt to save his countrymen at Aby Klea. and his loss was much mourned by the army. 

A giant of a man, said to be able to carry two troopers under each arm(!), he was larger than life when he lived and goes down as a living legend in his time.

I'll talk much more comprehensively about Fred Burnaby in a later post.

Cheers for now.

Finished Beja Bases and Sneak Peek!

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

As I've mentioned I also managed to get the Mounted Infantry conversions for El Teb finished but as yet they remain un-based. The Matting Agent I use can easily take 12 hours to go off and be completely dry. It's worth it as it is by far the best Matte Varnish that I have ever used. I don't miss the old formula Dulcote at all these days.

In all there are six mini's that were requited. Here's a Sneak Peek prior to basing:

That's all for today. I've got a lot to do tonight..... ;>)

Beja Base Two Complete.... Another Four to Go!!

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

..........and that will only be one unit done out of the five that I'm initially aiming at!!

It took a little more time than I had imagined (birthday celebrations getting in the way) but I'm happy to say that the second Beja base has been completed. I'm still messing around with the composition, which one reason the miniatures are only blue-tacked onto the bases, another is that they haven't received their traditional coat of Humbrol gloss followed by the matting down process. I use HMG varnish for matting down. If one was to take the 'old' Dullcote recipe out of the equation then HMG is about the flattest Matt varnish available. I find the 'new' Dullcote recipe to leave a satin sheen which I really do not like one bit. So, HMG Matt varnish comes highly recommended form these quarters!

The second lot were all metal (from the Perry Miniatures Mahdist range) and were very different than their plastic companions to paint. I found them easier to get into for some funny reason and I'm sure that it's not just a case of getting used to the different undercuts etc that are presented by plastics. Perhaps it's just a matter of me getting more used to painting up plastic models. Something that I quite enjoy, they are after all a bit of a different challenge than the metal models.

Here's a few pics of the Beja as they were a few minutes ago on the painting table. The varnishing process will help smooth out any jumps in tonality just as a wash would do.

The Two Bases:

A Couple of Close Ups:

First Base of Beja Complete!

Shooting Leave Catch Up Post:

Well, not quite the first base. I've got another six metal Beja which I'm starting to paint up right now that will me mixed and matched with the first and possibly the third plastic base. I find that many of the plastic mini's have a similar stance in that they all seem to be leaning forward a little so it's imperative for me to have more variation in the units, thus adding the metals.

I'm quite pleased with how they're come out given that this was a run through to see how what was possible and that a certain amount of detail had to be added by hand.

I sent for a reddish skin tone on the first unit as the colour of the skin tones in and around the Red Sea Littoral could vary from tribe to tribe (within tribes too one would imagine). I may try a darker tone next time but as I have 30-36 of this batch to do I'll worry about that later! The mini's haven't been varnished as of yet as I prefer to do them in batches of about ten. Saves quite a bit of time.

At present, the miniatures have no concrete spot on the base so I can play around with the composition more when I've got the metals painted up and come up with a more dynamic scene.

Without further ado, here's the 'first' base:

Bye for now.