Sunday 6 April 2014

2nd Punjab Cavalry Command


Part two, as it were, of my 'Mutineer Miniatures' Punjab or Sikh Cavalry, this time the command group.    Those of you who have a copy of the 'Indian Mutiny' from the Osprey Men-at-Arms series will hopefully recognise the officer in the middle from its cover illustration, resplendent in his cold weather poshteen, which in turn rather dictated how the rest of the unit would evolve.  The choice of red for the alkaluk might be contentious as different colours were certainly worn by other ranks, but the red certainly gives them some presence so happy to ride the derision of the 'button counters' on this one.


Fighting with distinction at Delhi and Lucknow, the 2nd Punjab Cavalry were made up of Sikh cavalrymen that remained loyal to the crown during the mutiny.  The Sikh religion forbade the cutting of hair, including facial hair and many would sport wonderfully fierce beards so I was delighted to see that this detail was carried through into the sculpting of these miniatures.  Having failed to source the appropriate guidon, the standard bearer has been given a bamboo lance for the interim period.




2nd Cavalry, Punjab Irregular Force, 1859

Nineteen officers and other ranks of the 2nd Punjab Cavalry received a total of twenty-three Order of Merit awards, including four advancements, for gallantry during the Indian Mutiny. The photograph, shown below, was published in the 'History of the Second Punjab Cavalry from 1849 to 1886' (London, 1888), and shows some of the recipients of that award.

Back Row: Dafadar Bishan Sing (3rd Class) & Jemadar Jeewun Sing (3rd Class)
Middle Row (seated): Ressaidar Hukdad Khan (3rd Class, advanced to 2nd Class) & Risaldar Bishun Sing (3rd Class, advanced to 2nd Class)
Front Row (seated): Jemadar Shere Sing (3rd Class, advanced to 2nd Class), Dafadar Punjaub Sing
(3rd Class) & Dafadar Sirmook Sing (3rd Class).




62 comments:

  1. Those are great expressive figures, which you done great credit to. Got to love the whiskers, as you say.

    The photo of the OBI recipients is a nice touch. If you haven't seen a pic of one close-up, their's one at Spink later this month - https://www.spink.com/lot-description.aspx?id=14001000052

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    1. Thank you so much Edwin and for the link to, it certain is a splendid award with a hefty estimate too!

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  2. Great work on these guys! Your horses are absolutely awesome.

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    1. Thank you, the horse sculpts really make it easier to paint, they are so good.

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  3. Very very fine paintwork Sir! Really like the basing too Michael!

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  4. Fantastic brush work, you've pick out the detail well and as Moiterei has said your horses are absolutely awsome.
    Top drawer young man.

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    1. Thank you so much, they were a joy to work on and that always seems to make for a better finish.

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  5. Lovely work there Michael and I got them as the 2nd Punjab Cavalry. I do love the paint job on them and the red sets them off and pop. Top work there

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    1. Thank you so much Pete, just pleased you like them.

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  6. Excellent paint job and basing, these minis are really beautiful!

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    1. Thank you so much Phil, I really enjoying basins it seems to bring the miniature to life.

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  7. Very nicely done Michael. The colours look great and the base are fab. Its interesting to see in the last pic how different each man's beard is. Shows how everyone is an individual I suppose.

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    1. Thank you Simon, the last picture really does help to bring them to life or at least gives an idea of what they nay have been like.

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  8. Great work, Michael. Those figures are eye-catching as always and the bamboo lance looks just perfect to me. Absolutely fitting as well as excellently painted.

    By the way I answered your commend about airbrush. More about that later.

    Cheers
    Stefan

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    1. Thank you Stefan, I was really pleased with the bamboo lance and can always add a guidon if I ever find out what it would have looked like!

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  9. really good!
    i like the red jackets, their colour is astonishing!
    bye

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    1. Thank you Luca, I was worried that it might be too bright, but pleased with how it turned out in the end.

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  10. These look great and the horses themselves are excellent

    Ian

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    1. Thank you Ian, the horses sam to really have caught the attention of people.

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  11. Wonderfully done Michael. These chappies definitely look ready to inspire fear in the hearts of Vicoria's enemies :)

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    1. They are certainly not to be trifled with! Thank you as well!

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  12. A red alkaluk!?!? preposterous!! ;)

    Truth is I wouldn't know an alkaluk from an alka-seltzer. I do know that these minis look great. The officer's green scarf is a nice touch.

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    1. I have to confess that I didn't know what an alkaluk was until I started researching these, thank you though.

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  13. Love these Michael. You need to do full Mutiny era armies.
    Cheers, PD

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  14. Excellent Michael, bloody excellent!

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    1. That is incredibly kind of you Francis, thank you.

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  15. The group looks good together, their red coats are subtle but does make them a distinctive group - nicely done.

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  16. They look spanking in Red.

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    1. Thank you, I was pleased that I stuck with it in the end.

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  17. I remember as a kid staring up to a Punjabi policeman ... it was very intimidating to say the least. :) Nice job on the miniatures by the way.

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  18. Fantastic work Michael - love the colours you adopted

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  19. A beautiful looking unit, they're painted perfectly.

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    1. That is really kind of you to say so, thank you.

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  20. Some of your best work IMHO. Quite outstanding mate.

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  21. Lovely job Michael, I love the browns of the horses, wonderful.

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    1. Thank you Captain, I was really please with how they turned out in the end.

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  23. Hola
    Gran trabajo si señor
    En particular a mi me encanta el echo en los caballos
    un saludo

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    1. Thank you J.D. the horses were my favourite to work on.

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  24. Splendid figures! Keep up the good work Michael.Very inspirational.

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  25. Thank you for both sentiments Andrew.

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  26. Excellent work on these figures Michael!!

    Christopher

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  27. More beautifully painted mounted troopers, sir. Really nice stuff, Michael.

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  28. Damn fine painting on some wonderful models! They look quite fierce with the beards and bamboo. Your painting and the last photo really bring the Indian Mutiny to life. Splendid!

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    1. Thank you Monty, these chaps really were a delight to work on.

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  29. The chaps at http://grimsbywargamessociety.webs.com make free Mutiny flags, including a bunch of Sikh ones - don't know if they have the 'proper' standard for the 2nd Punjab, but who's going to know? There are a couple of examples here : http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=64729.0

    Splendid figs, by the way - just working on this pack myself, though not remotely to your standard, alas.

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    1. They do look very good, thank you for the link.

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  30. Excellent Work. Bravo for preserving precious history. Being member of 2nd Punjab Cavalry i am proud to inform that this Regiment still exists as 12th Sam Browne Cavalry Frontier Force in Pakistan Armoured Corps and is an active Regiment to participate in recent WW1 commemoration besides an affiliate to 9/12 Royal Lancer in Great Britain. Cheers

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    1. Thank you so much for taking the time to post a comment, I am thrilled to hear that the regiment is still in existence and going from strength to strength. My best wishes, Michael.

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