Category: Colonial & Pulp

Empress Miniatures new Maori Wars Range

Joy, oh Joy! The ether has been alive with chatter of the announcement of this new range for a couple of weeks now – and they really do look like some lovely figures with nice clean casts and great sculpting. I have been wanting to get into Maori Wars in 28mm for sometime – but to be honest there just hasn’t been the figures available to inspire me, only Eureka having anything reasonable – except they are later period (2nd & 3rd Maori Wars) and while their British chaps look quite nice their Maori just don’t get me excited (perhaps they are not animated enough). However now that Empress have released their range everything has changed, as it were, and now there seems little reason not to do some Maori Wars gaming (and hopefully the Empress and Eureka guys will be a close match size wise to allow use of both)? Continue reading “Empress Miniatures new Maori Wars Range”

An Old Friend Thought Lost

In the last week the Major General Tremorden Rederring’s Colonial-era Wargames Page has been inaccessible across the ether – and the concern that it may have been lost for good! However as events have transpired it is just temporarily down due to technical issues and David Helber (the Major-General himself of Ouargistan) has reported that he hopes to have the site back up and running before the end of April [2011]. Meanwhile if you are looking for something from the site it’s accessible on the “Way-Back Machine” archive. Continue reading “An Old Friend Thought Lost”

TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [3]

Having successfully returned to their base (game 2) Valentine Baker Pasha’s forces weren’t able to rest – a delayed communiqué arrived advising a steamer was coming down the Nile to rendezvous with them at the village of al-Ġardaqaḧ as-Sūdān and it included more civilians! Baker Pasha would have to assemble another, reasonably strong column, and rapidly march the 2 days across the desert to the Nile, through the territory teeming with Dervishes, to reach the village in anticipation of the steamer’s arrival. Continue reading “TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [3]”

TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [2]

Following the disastrous battle of the expedition to locate the missing European Civilians (TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [1]), Baker Pasha and a handful of survivors had managed to evade the victorious Dervishes and rejoin the balance of the local Anglo-Egyptian forces. With the entire countryside now up in arms and no hope of a second attempt to locate the civilians Baker pulled his remaining force from its isolated position and immediately began a rapid withdrawal to their regional capital and barracks town, hotly pursued by the Dervish forces. Continue reading “TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [2]”

TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [1]

February regularly sees the BattleCry Convention in Auckland, one of the larger NZ Wargaming events that is usually well run and encompasses more than just miniatures gaming (i.e. board gaming, card gaming, LARPing, etc). This year Gerry & Carolyn Webb of Castaway Arts (from Cairns, Queensland, Australia) decided to attend with a trade stand and some TSATF (The Sword And The Flame) demo games – as I’m a big TSATF fan I organised with Gerry to help him with the games, and provide all the troops and terrain – thereby saving Gerry & Carolyn having to cart their own from across the Tasman! The games were run as Public Participation & Demonstration games; although the former is a fairly rare concept in New Zealand so not overly familiar to many local gamers. Continue reading “TSATF at BattleCry 2011 [1]”

TSATF Colonial Games at BattleCry 2011

Gerry Webb of Castaway Arts (in Australia) will be at the BattleCry 2011 Convention, here in Auckland on the 19-20 February, with his ranges of Figures and running some The Sword And The Flame participation demonstration games. And I’ll there with Gerry giving him a hand with the games. If you are in Auckland that weekend and interested in Colonials, or just Wargaming in general, pop along for a look at Auckland’s largest regular annual convention (expected to have over 300 gamers participating) at the ASB Stadium in Kohimarama – full details are at the BattleCry website. Continue reading “TSATF Colonial Games at BattleCry 2011”

Some Exceptional Sudan Inspiration

If anyone ever needed inspiration to game the Sudan, most especially with the Perry’s range of figures then this is it – Frank & Björn have absolutely set an amazing benchmark for figure painting & terrain – the image here is but a low resolution version of just one of the many images. Make sure you check out their stunning (and ongoing) thread at the Lead Adventure Forum – there are images on every page of the thread and new images periodically added… Continue reading “Some Exceptional Sudan Inspiration”

I say, it’s the Natal Carbineers!

As part of my Anglo-Zulu War forces I’m adding a small force of Natal Carbineers. The NC was a relatively small force – one of the smallest of the various para-military units in South Africa, numbering I believe just 60 at the time of the war in 1879 (with a total of 71 men serving during the course of the entire war). Of these at least 22 perished at Isandlwana (along with 26 Natal Mounted Police; and incidentally 2 NMP were also present at Rorke’s Drift – one of whom also perished, the other being wounded). The figures I chose are from the (classic) Wargames Foundry range, as these were the best figures I knew of at the time compatible with my existing Foundry, Perry, Castaway, and similar figs; and they can double as Natal Mounted Police at a pinch if needed… Continue reading “I say, it’s the Natal Carbineers!”

Here come the Bengal Lancers

As my colonial forces expand to cover the NWF (North West Frontier) now the Sudan and Zulu Wars are well catered for I have endeavoured to make some units ‘multi-use’ (i.e. suitable for more than 1 campaign/theatre if possible). As such I am constructing 2 Squadrons (or TSATF ‘units’) of Bengal Lancers, one Sikh and one Muslim. Here are some photos of the completed figures so far, based, and just waiting for lance pennants and suitable texturing of their bases… Continue reading “Here come the Bengal Lancers”

The Relief of Old Dongola

It is early 1884 and the Mahdist Rebellion is reaching it’s peak – Gordon is isolated in Khartoum, and the rebellion has steadily spreads north towards the Egyptian frontier. As the debate about any relief expedition to go to Gordon’s aid is being discussed, news comes that a large number of European, Greek, and Egyptian Civilians, along with a small British Hospital Corps detachment, have been cut off in the town of Old Dongola; and the local Egyptian Commander has only a small force of Bashi-Bazouk Irregulars, supplemented by whatever Civilians that can fight, to try and defend the town (who’s defences are in a poor state due to official Khedival policy of not maintaining any permanent fortifications in the Sudan, the town having the partial remnants of a wall, supplemented by zeribas and improvised barricades)… Continue reading “The Relief of Old Dongola”

Graf von Schnyder

For my Colonial Games using TSATF I like to have a few ‘personality’ figures to add to the games or campaigns over and above the standard units and commanders. Graf von Schnyder is a German Adventurer and Big Game Hunter who has travelled to the southern-most reaches of the Sudan and beyond retracing Samuel Baker’s epic journey, in addition to visiting other parts of Africa and the Pacific. Independently wealthy Schnyder is on a self obsessed mission to become world famous ‘somehow’ with the currently popular ‘Geographic Society’ and earn his immortality!

Continue reading “Graf von Schnyder”

Doctor Ernesto Furtwangler

For my Colonial Games using TSATF I like to have a few ‘personality’ figures to add to the games or campaigns over and above the standard units and commanders. An Austro-Hispanic Missionary & Doctor who has done charitable work in Khartoum and Kordofan and is well travelled (South America, India, China). Dr Furtwangler has travelled much of the world doing his missionary work for various Catholic Churches & Societies, and has learned several dialects.

Continue reading “Doctor Ernesto Furtwangler”