My Warlord Games “Rorke’s Drift” box set arrived today… It’s an impressive beast- it was part of their pre-order special on the new Anglo-Zulu War range that’s the premier of their new strategic partnership with Empress Miniatures. At the time I resisted the urge to get the full “Horns of the Buffalo – Rorke’s Drift Collectors Set” which is an absolutely huge collection of toys! This set is the first of their collaborations planned with Empress Miniatures – so you get a swag of Warlord Games plastic figures and terrain pieces, some Empress Miniatures speciality metal figs, and a pair of “4Ground” laser-cut plywood building kitsets of the storehouse and hospital.
There is also a mixture of biscuit box and mealie bag barricades reported to be historically accurate renditions from the battlefield as well as the barricaded wagons and the stone wall from the Kraal. Add to that 40 plastic Married Zulus & 20 plastic British Redcoats plus 7 assorted metal “Character Figures” (including Chard, Bromhead, Bourne and Hook – the historical version of the chaps – and a mounted InDuna to command the Zulus as well as a Zulu Rifleman in looted red jacket)!
The full Rorke’s Drift boxed set is:
- Laser-cut wooden Hospital building with ‘teddy bear fur’ thatch.
- Laser-cut wooden Storehouse building with ‘teddy bear fur’ thatch.
- Resin Wagon Barricade.
- Resin stone wall Kraal (4 x 6″ sections).
- Resin biscuit box barricades (2 x 6″ sections).
- Resin biscuit box/mealie bag barricades (3 x 6″ sections).
- Resin mealie bag barricades (3 x 6″ sections).
- 20 plastic multi-pose British Line Infantry
- 40 plastic multi-pose Married Zulus.
- Metal mounted Zulu InDuna.
- Metal Zulu in British jacket firing Martini-Henry rifle.
- 4 British characters: Lieutenant Chard (Royal Engineers), Lieutenant Bromhead, Colour Sergeant Bourne, and Private Hook.
If you really go the whole hog and go for the “Horns of the Buffalo – Rorke’s Drift Collectors Set” you get the above box set plus 5 extra resin mealie bag barricades; 1 extra resin biscuit box barricade; 4 extra biscuit box/mealie bag barricades; 1 extra resin wagon barricade; 2 extra lengths of resin walls; Resin broken down walls (6 x 6″ sections); Resin mealie bag redoubt (2 x 3″ x 6″ sections making a 6″ square redoubt); Engineers wagon; Water cart; 6 plastic fences (3″ sections); 4 x plastic bell tents; Resin Cookhouse; 6 metal African cattle; 3 x resin ovens; Resin Water Closet; 1 x metal dead horse; 1 x dog (Pip the terrier); and 4 British characters (all made by Empress Miniatures) based on the ‘Hollywood’ characters from the 1964 film ‘Zulu’: Chard (Stanley Baker), Bromhead (Michael Caine), Bourne (Nigel Green), and Hook (James Booth). But that might just be a little bit of overkill?
Hopefully I’ll get my buildings assembled over Christmas holidays (perhaps) – and can get some preliminary snap shots up… To check out these sets go to Warlord Games Rorke’s Drift boxed set or the Horns of the Buffalo – Rorke’s Drift Collectors Set. Alternately you can can also see the details and/or order these (or some other alternative sets) from Empress Miniatures as well.
Read More: Work Begins On Rorke’s Drift.
Looks great, I am seriously tempted by theis set…, but I keep thinking I could scratch build it if I get motivated…
Hi Scott – yes you probably could, and I could of too – but it’s sooooo much easier this way – plus there are lots of other cool goodies in the box that makes the whole thing worth while and the terrain quite quick! 🙂
I’ve actually already got a swag of Foundry Zulus (about 120) painted up and 2 Companies of 20 Brits each plus a battery of 2 guns and a Lancer Squadron (12); with detachments of Natal Carbineers (8 mounted & dismounted) & Native Horse (6); and 20 NNC Infantry… So this box nicely finishes off my Anglo-Zulu War Colonial force and terrain – I’ll use the plastic Zulus and InDuna to round out my Zulu force, and add the British personalities to my above Brits; but will likely have most or all of the 20 plastic Brits at least left over as not needed, and as I already have a swag of the Perry figs painted up for the Sudan & NWF they might end up being the catalyst for doing another small later-19th Century British Colonial period/campaign/theatre where the uniforms were a different colour but they & the helmets still essentially the same as the 1876-1885 era ‘non-Indian’ ones worn against the Ashanti, in Zululand, Egypt & the Sudan, etc. Unfortunately I don’t think they will pass for the Boxer rebellion era (for which I already have a Japanese Infantry unit and the Peking Legation improvised ‘artillery gun’ & crew), and are no use for NZ Wars – perhaps they may be usable for some NEF in Burma or such – or perhaps I just go megalomaniac and do a third unit of Brits for Zululand…?! 🙂
This looks really great – how did you get a copy? I’m trying to find where I can buy it, and Wargames Supply who usually come up trumps for me don’t have a supply. It’s also v. heavy, so getting it shipped from abroad seems nightmarish.
Hi Mike – I got them from WG in the ‘pre-release’ special promo direct from the UK pre-Christmas. As John has commented on in this thread they usually have shipping promos to all parts of the world at good rates… 🙂
Warlord Games do 2 pounds postage anywhere in the world
Also, happy to participate in the enormous multi-player you are planning for when they are painted!