Just did some quick math. This blog has been open for almost a year now and I've created a grand total of FIVE posts. Clearly maintaining this blog as a distinct entity is not working out. So we moved!
The Tulwar and Bayonet Blog has migrated over to Skill Level Zero. All five of the previous posts have been folded into the site's content. There may be some teething pains, so I will leave this site up for the foreesable future. You can find us here
http://skilllevelzero.blogspot.com/
Thanks for visiting us here in the past!
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
If you didn't laugh, you'd cry...
I've got a good sized collection of 25-28mm Sikhs from Foundry and Old Glory. About 10 years ago, I painted most everything up and based it for Volley and Bayonet. I put on the Battle of Ferozeshah about once every year at local conventions. It's a fun game and it's visually impressive.
A few years ago, I realized that all the Sikh infantry had been painted with white cross brace straps across their chests. While it looked good and it match the British uniform style...it was also wrong. Those straps should have been black for the winter uniform and white for the summer uniform (and these guys were not painted for summer!). But, I told myself, it doesn't really matter.It's a minor thing and the period is so obscure it's not likely to be noticed.
Then came today.
I sat down to paint those new figures I got from Studio Miniatures. It had been a while and I wanted to check the color of the horizontal piping across the uniform jacket. So I pulled out my old Opsrey book on the Sikh Army and thumbed through the pages. Ten minutes later, I got a shock.
Somehow, I'd used the wrong plate as the basis for the Sikh infantry. I'd painted all those years ago. I'd been painting the line infantry with red jackets and white trousers.
But there in the Osprey were the plates for the Sikh regulars - in blue trousers!
So what had I done? I'd painted up my entire Sikh Army as if they were wearing the uniform of the elite "French Legion" (also known as the "Guard Brigade".Imagine you've got a big collection of French Napoleonics and you just discovered you had painted every single solider as if he were a member of the Imperial Guard!
All I can say is...D'oh!
So I caught it early enough with these figure to correct the painting before I based the figures. What it means for the games is that I'll end up with two distinct groups of figures - those painted historically and those that are...not. I'm not planning on repainting anything at this time (getting the figures off their V&B bases would be a horrible chore - I used Woodlands Scenic Flexpaste to attach them and that stuff is tenacious!) So they'll soldier on in their incorrect uniforms for the foreseeable future.
A few years ago, I realized that all the Sikh infantry had been painted with white cross brace straps across their chests. While it looked good and it match the British uniform style...it was also wrong. Those straps should have been black for the winter uniform and white for the summer uniform (and these guys were not painted for summer!). But, I told myself, it doesn't really matter.It's a minor thing and the period is so obscure it's not likely to be noticed.
Then came today.
I sat down to paint those new figures I got from Studio Miniatures. It had been a while and I wanted to check the color of the horizontal piping across the uniform jacket. So I pulled out my old Opsrey book on the Sikh Army and thumbed through the pages. Ten minutes later, I got a shock.
Somehow, I'd used the wrong plate as the basis for the Sikh infantry. I'd painted all those years ago. I'd been painting the line infantry with red jackets and white trousers.
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| My typical paint choices for the Sikh infantry. |
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| A bit more prototypical uniform colors. |
So what had I done? I'd painted up my entire Sikh Army as if they were wearing the uniform of the elite "French Legion" (also known as the "Guard Brigade".Imagine you've got a big collection of French Napoleonics and you just discovered you had painted every single solider as if he were a member of the Imperial Guard!
All I can say is...D'oh!
So I caught it early enough with these figure to correct the painting before I based the figures. What it means for the games is that I'll end up with two distinct groups of figures - those painted historically and those that are...not. I'm not planning on repainting anything at this time (getting the figures off their V&B bases would be a horrible chore - I used Woodlands Scenic Flexpaste to attach them and that stuff is tenacious!) So they'll soldier on in their incorrect uniforms for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Unboxing the new Studio Miniatures 28mm Sikh War figures
Okay, I had time to open all the boxes from Studio Miniatures and look at most of the figures
except the artillery crews. (We'll cover them in the next week or so).
What follows are my initial impressions and images of the figures. I'll
be adding more detailed reviews of the figures to the Parade Ground page in the future.
My Kickstarter return was four 'battalions' of miniatures - two each of British regulars and Sikh Khalsa infantry. The British battalions are 20 figures while the Sikh battalions are 24 figures. Each includes command and colour bearers along with infantry in 'march attack' (with fixed bayonets) pose.
In addition to the four battalions there were a number of 'stretch goals' that resulted in additional figures being included with the release. This included addition Sikh and British officers both on foot and mounted as well as a British RSM, a Sikh 'water bearer' an artillery piece - 9 pounder for the Brits, 12 pounder for the Sikhs and four artillery crew for the same, and a figure of "Flashman" from the popular series of novels by George McDonald Fraiser.
However, a quick squeeze with my spreader tool (a model railroad tool) has him firmly astride his mount.
In what will become a recurring theme, this mounted officer is a bit bigger than a comparable mounted officer from Old Glory's Sikh War command pack.
The British foot officer is also cleanly cast with nice detail. If I have any regrets its that the figure is not different or better animated than other British officer figures already available. But he will fit well into the line of advancing infantry with whom he is assigned.
The infantry consist of one pose, so this will be quick. The figure represents the 'flank company' and is nicely detailed.
Again these figures are on the large side, as you can see in this comparison image of the various figures to Old Glory regular infantry.
As with the British, when the Studio Miniatures Sikh War troops are compared to Old Glory or Foundry figures directly, we can see a distinct difference in size.
My Kickstarter return was four 'battalions' of miniatures - two each of British regulars and Sikh Khalsa infantry. The British battalions are 20 figures while the Sikh battalions are 24 figures. Each includes command and colour bearers along with infantry in 'march attack' (with fixed bayonets) pose.
In addition to the four battalions there were a number of 'stretch goals' that resulted in additional figures being included with the release. This included addition Sikh and British officers both on foot and mounted as well as a British RSM, a Sikh 'water bearer' an artillery piece - 9 pounder for the Brits, 12 pounder for the Sikhs and four artillery crew for the same, and a figure of "Flashman" from the popular series of novels by George McDonald Fraiser.
The British figures
The British figures arrived well packed in white cardboard boxes. The box contained two layers of foam that keeps the figures secure and intact.Command Figures
We'll start start with one of the stretch goal figures - the mounted British commander. Cleanly cast - both horse and rider with good detailing. The only minor quibble is that the rider does not fit the horse 'out of the box' |
| Not quite fitting his mount |
However, a quick squeeze with my spreader tool (a model railroad tool) has him firmly astride his mount.
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| All squared up and ready to go |
In what will become a recurring theme, this mounted officer is a bit bigger than a comparable mounted officer from Old Glory's Sikh War command pack.
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| The Studio Miniatures horse is behind this Old Glory and rider. Even so, you can see the SM figure is larger than the OG. |
The British foot officer is also cleanly cast with nice detail. If I have any regrets its that the figure is not different or better animated than other British officer figures already available. But he will fit well into the line of advancing infantry with whom he is assigned.
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| The British Drummer. A nice figure - but those are some hefty drum sticks! |
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| British Color bearer |
Infantry figure
The infantry consist of one pose, so this will be quick. The figure represents the 'flank company' and is nicely detailed.
Again these figures are on the large side, as you can see in this comparison image of the various figures to Old Glory regular infantry.
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| Studio Miniatures (unpainted) officer (on left) infantry and standard bearer (on right) with Old Glory infantry and bearer. |
The Sikh Figures
The Sikh figures pretty much mirror the British figures. Both in character and size. One nice thing was the I received two (2) Sikh flags with one of the infantry battalions, so my Sikh troops will have colors.
Command Figures
The command figures turned out pretty good. |
| A Sikh officer with the Paag headgear battalion |
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| Officer with the 'top knot' turban battalion |
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| standard bearer |
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| Sikh drummer |
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| Sikh bugler |
Infantry figure
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| Marching to action with bayonet fixed |
There were only two minor issues with the figures. Both were easily corrected.
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| One (1) figure had a bent bayonet |
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| One (1) figure had flash between the legs |
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| The SM officer on the left towers over this Foundry Sikh NCO figure. |
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| Foundry standard bearer on the left with SM figure on the right. |
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Studio Miniatures Kickstarter delivers!
In this week's post I received my long awaiting 28mm Sikh War figures from Studio Miniatures. This was the result of a Kickstarter I contributed funding too in late summer 2013. And what a parcel it was!
Opening the envelope revealed the contents....lots of boxes and two clamshell packs.
Emptying out the envelope yielded the following...
One clamshell opened during transit and the contents were loose in the envelope. This must have happened late in the process and all the figures survived intact. (Hooray!) The KS personality figures from the stretch goals and the gun crews were in the clamshells, the 'battalions' of Sikh and British are in the white boxes.
The infantry was well packed in each box
Some of the stretch goals included artillery crews for each two battalions ordered as part of the Kickstarter. The crews were in this clamshell.
The figures look great. Sharp detail and cleanly cast. Studio Miniatures has scored with the initial releases for their Sikh War line. Below are some images of more of the bonus figures.
 | |
| The parcel posted from the UK to me here in Ohio. Postage marked as 22 pounds! |
Opening the envelope revealed the contents....lots of boxes and two clamshell packs.
Emptying out the envelope yielded the following...
One clamshell opened during transit and the contents were loose in the envelope. This must have happened late in the process and all the figures survived intact. (Hooray!) The KS personality figures from the stretch goals and the gun crews were in the clamshells, the 'battalions' of Sikh and British are in the white boxes.
 |
| Escapees from the packaging, but no casualties - not even the RSM with that long bayonet. |
The infantry was well packed in each box
Some of the stretch goals included artillery crews for each two battalions ordered as part of the Kickstarter. The crews were in this clamshell.
The figures look great. Sharp detail and cleanly cast. Studio Miniatures has scored with the initial releases for their Sikh War line. Below are some images of more of the bonus figures.
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| Sikh General and water bearer |
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| The British RSM |
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| Mounted Sikh Officer |
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Projects, projects, projects...
I'm eargerly awaiting receipt of my 28mm Sikh Wars figures from Studio Miniatures. Earlier in 2013 I funded their kickstarter and it succeeded well beyond the initial scope of the projects. The many additional add ons caused shipping to be delayed, but the images I've seen so far are looking good!
Once I get the figures in hand, I can start completing the units I will need to field the troops used at the Battle of Sobraon. It was an ugly battle featuring a strongly entrenched gun line with flanks secured on a river. (Imagine if you dumped the central redoubt from Borodino into the middle of the Confederate lines at Antietam and you get a rough idea of what the British faced.)
Once I get the figures in hand, I can start completing the units I will need to field the troops used at the Battle of Sobraon. It was an ugly battle featuring a strongly entrenched gun line with flanks secured on a river. (Imagine if you dumped the central redoubt from Borodino into the middle of the Confederate lines at Antietam and you get a rough idea of what the British faced.)
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Welcome to Tulwar and Bayonet!
Tulwar and Bayonet is a blog devoted to my hobby of playing tabletop miniatures games of the historical battles from the Anglo-Sikh Wars of the mid-19th Century.
I got started down this path in the 1990's when I was reading up on the colonial wars of Queen Victoria. The Sikh war was interesting as it was one of the few times that the British (or rather the East India Company) actually stood to lose battles that could indeed cost them the war.As it turns out, the Honorable East India Company won every battle, but the casualty counts were high enough to shock the British people and government.
Its a colorful period with redcoats, (on both sides) lots of artillery, cavalry and even camels and elephants. I plan to document my efforts at gaming this little know conflict covering both the rules I use for the games as well as the various figure manufacturers that make up my miniature armies.
I got started down this path in the 1990's when I was reading up on the colonial wars of Queen Victoria. The Sikh war was interesting as it was one of the few times that the British (or rather the East India Company) actually stood to lose battles that could indeed cost them the war.As it turns out, the Honorable East India Company won every battle, but the casualty counts were high enough to shock the British people and government.
Its a colorful period with redcoats, (on both sides) lots of artillery, cavalry and even camels and elephants. I plan to document my efforts at gaming this little know conflict covering both the rules I use for the games as well as the various figure manufacturers that make up my miniature armies.
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