Thursday 26 April 2018

Punjabi Professionals

When it came to finding a suitable unit to represent professionally trained soldiers for my Congo campaign, I knew that I wanted something a little bit different.  I had already used 'Copplestone Castings' Askaris and deliberately kept the uniform simple to hint at the rank and file nature of the unit.  I also had a notion that whatever I did finally use might also find a place in one of my other collections and so a plan started to form.  The combination of a couple of hours of web based research and a good deal of luck turned up the following image from the 'National Army Museum' archives.
The watercolour and pencil sketch is credited to Major Alfred Crowdy Lovett, (c.1900) and shows six Sepoys from the 30th Regiment (Bombay) Native Infantry (3rd Belooch Battalion).  Now I am ashamed to say that I simply don't have the knowledge, or depth of understanding, when it comes to the Native Indian Regiments, but was heartened to discover that Mad Guru of the outstanding 'Maiwand Day' blog had produced a similarly striking unit to the ones in the sketch and so felt that this was a potentially legitimate line of enquiry.  I convinced myself that I could see a red Kullah in the central figure and so ordered up some of the splendid 'Artizan Designs' Punjabi infantry.
Using miniatures from their 2nd Afghan War range, namely the NCO and Infantry at Trail packs (pack numbers NWF0123 and NWF0121) I was able to create just the effect that I was looking for and with the distinct possibility that they might see service in another theatre of operations in due course.
The miniatures themselves are fabulous sculpts, although I did baulk at the prospect of attaching the trailing arm to a couple of them - I am not a fan of the multi-piece miniature!  I love the idea of these professional soldiers organising the Askari and keeping them in good order, protecting the expedition as it penetrates deeper into the dense jungle of the Congo.  I am, of course, worried that I may have committed some ghastly faux pas with regards to the uniforms, but hoping that if I have that I will be quietly corrected.

35 comments:

  1. A period I have sorely been tempted to traverse in the past, Michael, so this posting is not helping my resolve at all. Outstanding brush-work as ever my friend, and I additionally chuckled at your comment "I am not a fan of the multi-piece miniature!" - looking forward to seeing you one day dip your toe into some modern-day plastic "Games Workshop" minis then ;-)

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  2. Beautiful painting Michael :)

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  3. What a fantastic looking unit Michael, and the pencil and water colour sketch is very inspiring

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  4. Wonderful job on these Sikhs, and the first picture is superb, immersive and superb!

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  5. Very nice looking Sikhs! :)

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  6. Excellent! I can see myself painting these in a few weeks as well. It is just the kind of thing Matt (at the Club) will get me to paint for him when he sees your versions.

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  7. I'm a huge fan of both Copplestone and Artizan. Just the right mix of solidity and detail. You've done a lovely job on them sir!

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  8. Simply lovely.Keep up the good work.

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  9. lovely work, do like a good Sikh force

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  10. They look great now all that's remains is to see them in action :)

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  11. Great unit, and you only need four figures for a Congo Soldier unit. It seems the Sikhs were used a lot over the years in Africa. They were a lot more resistant to the diseases than ‘white’ Soldiers.
    If you want an alternative look at Dixon’s Dahomey range for French troops. Mine have morphed into a full blown TMWWBK’s Field Force.

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  12. Great figures and paint-job. Strangely enough I've been looking to field some Sikhs too for my Jimland adventures, though I doubt I could do justice to these great figures as much as you have.

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  13. LovelyLfigures and as someone already said the first picture is a very nice vignette indeed, really sets the scene.

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  14. Lovely work Michael. I have a soft spot for Indian regiments and yours have come out very nicely. Suitable for NWF, Afghanistan, Sudan or a bunch of other colonial campains.

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  15. Beautiful painting s always Michael, I too am not a fan of multipart figures.

    Cheers Roger.

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  16. Very nice figures. In my painting, I try not to get too bogged down to match the uniforms to a specific regiment. Nor am I critical of others that paint their figures more generically. I have limited time to paint and limited room for figures, so any I do paint have to be useful in many situations.

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  17. Jolly nice work. Shabash, husoor!

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  18. My knowledge of this period is limited so no advice from this side of the pond.
    I think using the illustration you've posted though, they look like they should fit just fine and even if the uniforms are incorrect say, for the Congo, they regardless look dashing and will provide some extra colour to the table!

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  19. another great addition to your Congo forces kind sir!

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  20. More nice work. BTW, the 1st picture IMHO is masterful: perspective, color, posing, light and shadow, etc. NICE! Everything but the sound and smell of jungle fauna.

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  21. At this scale, your work on their faces alone is fantastic!!!

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  22. Very nice again, Michael. I really like the color combination of the uniform (including the turban). That first shot is very interesting too - the jungle canopy caught me off guard as I normally expect to see Sikhs in more arid environments.

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  23. Great work on these, the colours really go well together and yet are exotic

    Ian

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  24. Very nice a splendid little unit

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  25. Gorgeous work as always Michael - wonderful and colourful characters indeed!

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  26. Splendid painting Michael! Those uniforms look absolutely impressive and wonderfully gaudy.

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  27. Beautiful work Michael. I love their faces!

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  28. I think your research has paid off Michael and your red and green work really well with the khaki. Superb painting as always.

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  29. Beautiful job as is always the case with your figures, Michael! I'm very happy to hear my blog played some part in your research, and as you say and others above have already agreed, your colorful 30th Bombay Native Infantry ("Jacob's Rifles") will not be limited to service in the Congo but could certainly do some soldiering back on the NWF, or in Egypt or the Sudan, or China, or Burma -- where I know you have some beautifully painted Pontoonier Burmese regulars lurking in the bamboo forest!

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  30. I really like the muted earth tones, a world class paintjob.

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