Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The PO Rifles




Post Master McRandall & Senior Clerk Dornan

A while ago HAT offered a number of their figures early to chaps who were on their forum. Being excitable and possessed of poor impulse control, I got one of everything and ended up with some Ruga Ruga and German Askari.  I have absolutely no interest in the German colonial campaigns, so I put the figures in a box and forgot about them. 

 

I was reading John French's excellent book "The British in India" published by Wargames Foundry and one of the things that struck me was the sheer number of volunteer, yeomanry and mosstrooper* style units that were on the strength.  These generally wore civilian kit, possible with a sun helmet and a few pieces of webbing. I have been tempted by the Mutiny for the longest time, but I thought that these chaps could be easily modified with a few cuts here and there.  

Looking at it now, I might trim McRandall's revolver. I left the long barrel, I think it's meant to be an Artillery Luger, mainly because it reminded me of those massive cap and ball things used in the 1850s, Colt Dragoons and Adams revolvers. That sort of thing. 





Painted up with a generally civilian looking appearance they could serve in the Mutiny, as African explorers or some manner of European volunteer unit later in the Colonial period. I was thinking they could be something like the Meerut Post Office Rifles or something. 


I undercoated them white and then painted them with thinned Vallejo acyrlics. I had a little bit of fun adding some highlights here and there, to make the colours pop a bit. I think they've turned out rather well if I say so myself.  They are actually a little more uniform that I expected they would be, but that's probably down to palette choices. 







It's unlikely that I'm going to be able to game the Mutiny any time soon, so I would say that these chaps I probably bound for Central Africa or Afghanistan. I don't recall reading about any volunteer units made up of British civil servant in Afghanistan, but there was probably something of the sort. 



If nothing else, it would probably motivate me to finish Churchill's History of the Malakand Field Force. I'm happy with how these turned out and it would have been a shame to let these otherwise fine figures go to waste. 


*Noted Flashman fans. 

11 comments:

  1. They look suitably stout chaps for any occasion. The mix of colours in the coats is quite effective. Any unit that can mix Place Name+Utility+Weapon (e.g., Singapore Telegraph Howitzers) is a unit I'd want to be part of.

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    1. Thank you very much Mike. They are coming along reasonably well. There are another three stragglers that need a blast of spray - but I shall save them for a later post.

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  2. These look rather good! HAT are 'benefactors of the human race', to mis-quote. You've done a jolly nice job on the chap in the grey-khaki tunic. I do like a volunteer, or an irregular. Great shame I missed the old Volunteers by only 80 years or so...

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    1. Hat are rather excellent. I'm pushing on with some of their Ruga Ruga and Heliograph operators.

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  3. Beautiful painting .. thanks for sharing these.
    R

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    1. Thank you very Robin. I think that's the first time anyone has called my painting beautiful, but there's a first time for everything :)

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  4. They certainly look well painted. Just the thing for an 1881 improvised British garrison holding off the Boer or perhaps Basuto. But I'm sure that the puttees and rifles would be gracefully overlooked by the fair sex if these gentlemen offered to defend them against Mutineers.

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    1. The Sex are ever kind Ross to a chap who dresses suitably sharply.

      I shall certainly be deploying them everywhere from 1857 to 1900.

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