THE VICTORIAN EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
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About the Project
I have decided to revisit all my colonial miniatures and give them a bit of love after being stored away in the Garage for so long. I have four armies that need a tidy up and revisit some 19th century theaters of war and why the hell were we there? "Because we're here lad,no body else, just us"
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Navy Rockets
Heavy rocket tube usually attached to gun boats but handy for setting fire to native villages
Zulu village
It was about time I invested in some scenery pieces for the Zulus and picked these up from empress miniatures. Quick spray and dry brush
Standards
The 3rd regiment of foot had their colours present in Zululand. This is the end of the period of carrying standards into battle so it would be a shame not to represent them
The board build continues
The battlefield needs some trees so I've been spending my evenings twisting wire which kills the hands. I've never made my own trees before so s bit if an experimentTidy up
While waiting for new minis to arrive I got to work repairing some Zulus who needed rebasing and touching up with a bit if paint. I got four units done in a day
HMS Active
The naval brigade at Nyezane were from HMS Active and the Zulus described them as men in white trousers who charged up a hill to stop an attack so I repainted some trousers to represent them
Second hill finished
Finished two boards with hill. My table is now to small for all my boards together
Two boards together
Little more research into the landscape of the Nyezane battlefield with some modern shots if the hills which today are more cultivated
Today I have done two boards together as they both contain the same hill with s little track crossing it. I want to put a Zulu village on this oneWhite helmets?
The movie Zulu of course has lots of redcoats in white foreign service helmets but in reality they were dyed by the actual soldiers on campaign to provide a bit if camouflage which seems ridiculous for a soldier in red. I guess in the African sun a white helmet is a shiny target for a marksman.
However the 99th at Nyezane were fresh off the boat and as you can see in this photograph still had the brass badge in their white hats. So I have painted up two units with white helmets so they stand out from other units.
Half way there
Six foot by six foot. Half the board is now complete ish. Ridiculously large but still more to come
Board 5
Board 5 has no real features but it's turned out to green due to lack of flock. I'll have to take a break while I wait for more. But 5 out of 12 not bad
First four together make a good size table 4 foot by 8
Board 4
Carrying in the track from the river into the next board I have four rather flat boards to do and I aim to do one a day this was today's effort. I'll add details once it has driedThe Buffs
Today I finished off four units of the 3rd infantry known as the buffs because if their facing colours. I have one more unit I need to complete.
Board two adapted to join board three
Yesterday was the anniversary of Rorkes Drift do I had a break out on my 1879 uniform and barricaded the house. I filled some long life bags with horse feed and painted stripes on them. I thfn raided the cupboard for brandy. Then I got the hot cutter and did a bit more work to my hills and got the three I've made so far together
Board three complete
Paint base followed by mix flock all over the board and the kitchen floor. Three down. 9 to go for the 12 foot table in never going to use 
His maps leading him the wrong way
Luckily this native scout knows the way
Next I have some infantry to add. Going to see how they look with contrastBasing up the troops
I've been mixing my flocks a lot more to get a better look for the landscape.
At the actual battle the native contingent sprang the Zulu ambush and their British officer gave the order to fire. Unfortunately he wasn't used to the language and gave the order to fall back and was surprised to see his men run away.Starting board three
Next section along links with the hill side so I got another old hill our if storage and cut it to fit. I might need to do a bit of work to board two to help them matchBoard two complete
Now my river is finished with this second board which took longer as it had a large hill. I had an old hill I've recycled chopped up repainted and based. I mixed my flock up after looking at my holiday snaps and made the grass more brown on the hills
Zulus appear on the hill
Two boards togetherOne board done. Twelve to go
Added some water effects with some easy fix glue.doing this on the kitchen table is the equivalent of fixing a motorbike in the house according to the wife. Don't know what she means I made very little mess
I added a few details with plants and bushes but had to darken up the plastic look
Colonel Pearson orders his artillery over the river
One board complete. Might finish a second river section tomorrow
