Monday 7 March 2016

Empress Miniatures Colonel Evelyn Wood



As I frantically scramble around, trying to finish off some Zulu warriors as part of the  'VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’ it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't posted my Colonel Evelyn Wood, a Natal Native Contingent Scout and a Swazi Warrior all from the wonderful 'Empress Miniatures'.
Wood is one of those peculiarly Victorian heroes, a remarkable man and destined for a career in the armed forces; he initially started out aboard ship as a midshipman on HMS Queen, a 110-gun first rate ship of the line.  Eventually joining the army he served in the 13th Light Dragoons during the Crimean War and the 17th Lancers during the Indian Mutiny, where he was awarded the Victoria Cross.  In 1862, Wood moved to the infantry, first joining the 73rd, then the 17th and finally the 90th Light Infantry.
Undeniably brave, Wood was plagued by illness and accidents. At Inkerman, when he was just sixteen, his arm was shattered by enemy case shot. Refusing to have the arm amputated, he is said to have been removing bone splinters from his arm for weeks afterwards. Perhaps his most bizarre accident saw him trampled by a giraffe, a beast he was previously riding as a bet before he fell off!








81 comments:

  1. A nice story and an outstanting paintjob...Brilliant!

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  2. Very nice! Really impressive figure well executed.

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  3. Ok so Wood was a nutcase. Great figures, get painting

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    1. I think they all were to a greater or lesser degree. Sadly I can't count these towards the tally as started before the challenge began!

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  4. Fascinating stories about Wood. The painting is superb sir. All 3 figures are just wonderful.

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    1. Thank you so much Rod, he certainly was a character.

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  5. As ever excellent brushwork.
    I´ve just looked up the cove on the web...amazing bloke!

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    1. Thank you Paul, there seemed to have been a glut of heroic chaps tearing around the Empire.

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  6. Lovely figures, wonderfully painted.
    Best Iain

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  7. Excellent work Michael. Wonderful figures!

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  8. Great stuff!

    As you say, Wood was a remarkable man - but he didn't hide his light under his bushel!

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    1. Thank you so much Edwin, certainly not a man to hold back telling you what he thought of you by all accounts.

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  9. Beautiful work as always Michael, nice background too.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thank you Roger, that is very kind of you.

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  10. Superb work, sir! Wood certainly was a character, standing out in a century which had no shortage of them.

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    1. That you A.J. certainly crafted from a rich vein of heroic types.

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  11. Well if anyone needed proof that you can paint (and we do not) then we have got it. Brilliant.

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    1. That is a lovely thing to say Clint, thank you.

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  12. Another lovely addition to your collection.

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  13. Cor, they're lovely. Especially like the chap in the full native rig.

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  14. Beautiful work Sir M! Love the paintjob on the cloak of the last pic.

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    1. Thank you Ray, he was a blast to do, I really love the details.

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  15. Lovely, very much like the paintjob on the zulu shields that's simply superb!

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  16. When I first saw this in my feed, I thought "Michael's gone for more points by painting a 54mm vignette", but it's 28mm, isn't it? Outstanding brush work, Michael. And an entertaining story about one of the sons of the Empire. Reminds me of a character one of my friends played in a Victorian RPG, who reassured the rest of the party that being surrounded by cannibal tribesmen AND running low on ammunition wouldn't be a problem, as they were British and that meant they'd be "home in time for tea and medals".

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    1. Thank you Jez, history seems to be littered with characters like this one and all the richer for it.

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  17. Lovely work as usual.

    Great shading on the red, the horse and the black skin!

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    1. Thank you so much, I've just realised that I took these photographs before applying the matt varnish as well, which helps to tie the piece together.

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  18. What an intersting chap that Wood fellow is and your rendition of his miniature counterpart is, as always superb.. as are the Zulu and Swazi figures.

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    1. Thank you so much Joe, I must find more time to revisit this period.

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  19. Fantastic painting. I have had this figure on my table for a few months now and you have just provided the inspiration.....champion stuff.

    Regards

    Nathan

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    1. Thank you Nathan, that is an incredibly kind thing to say and I look forward to seeing your rendition soon.

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  20. Nice modeling, sir. The paint job on the big cat hide is a winner.

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    1. Thank you Jay, I must confess I did enjoy painting the pelt.

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  21. A wonderful figure, my friend. Very well done, indeed.

    Funnily today I read something about Wood's younger days. Very interesting person with a glamorous career he was.

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    1. Thank you so much Stefan, he is certainly a chap that I need to devout some more research into.

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  22. Lovely stuff as always, the native particularly is lovely

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  23. Stunning work Sir Michael! The animal skin is particularly impressive.
    Your Clocktopus vignette was also beautiful, sorry I missed it at the time.

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  24. Beautifully painted minis, Michael.

    I guess riding a giraffe is a bad idea. Who knew?

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    1. I'll certainly be thinking twice about adding it as a bonus excursion on the next safari!

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  25. Amazing paintjob Michael! And a great backstory for the miniature as well! Suitably excentric for a British officer of the time!

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  26. Excellent detailing on the figures, very nicely done!

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  27. Hola
    Magnifico trabajo si señor
    un saludo

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  28. Outstanding painting. I wonder if anyone makes giraffe cavalry?

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  29. Superb as always! The leopard skin on the Swazi warrior is just brilliant!

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  30. Lovely work indeed on these Michael!

    Christopher

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  31. Well done! I especially like the work on the pelts.

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    1. Thank you sir, certainly got a tad distracted with those.

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  32. Another absolute corker sir. What was it about this period and the number of characters it spawned???

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    1. Thank you Michael, there was clearly a sense of one-upmanship prevailing in the Empire at the time - giraffe riding indeed, you'll probably find out that some bright spark saddled a warthog and said look at me Colonel Wood!

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  33. What an interesting fellow! A miniature portraying him riding the giraffe would be something else....! :D Marvellous artwork as usual, Michael, thanks for sharing!!!

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    1. Thank you so much, it is almost too tempting not to track down a 28mm giraffe and have a go at that.

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  34. That's a part of history I don't really know much about, but you've done a hell of a paint job on these figures.

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    1. Thank you so much Nick, as always your kind words are gratefully received.

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  35. Great painting! That leopard (?) skin is fantastic.

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  36. Yet another set of fantastic paint work. AND a piece of history trivia to boot ... keep them coming, I love all things history (or is it historical?). :)

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  37. Splendid Work! Yes Indeed. Beano Boy

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