Not the Sudan?

 

Willie goes to the Sudan

I was trawling the lead foothills last night when what should I find but this gentleman. There are a few late 19th Century Egyptians that are suitable for the so-called 'Urabi Uprising' and the early phase of the Mahdist period in Sudan. They are basically this officer, a couple of variant marching infantry and an artilleryman, the latter of which might be convert-able to a drummer.

Yes, Castaway Arts do a much better range of very nicely sculpted, well-proportioned figures, but surely just a couple of units can't hurt, can they?

And I need an excuse to make a fort and a river steamer. Again. 

Terrain - Mahdist Fort

One of the 'gun ports'

 Over the weekend I finished off the first of my Mahdist forts. I see this sort of position as an artillery fort mounting a single gun and only a relatively small number of riflemen.

Something of the entrance and the decoration of the building

Construction of the small building that has been incorporated in the earthwork is foammcore. The earthwork itself is polystyrene cut with a hot wire cutter then surformed wioth a sanding block. The surface was sealed and textured with gap-filler and fine sand.

Plans, plans, plans

It's been more or less decided. We are heading off for the Soodan.

I am am member of a loose group of gamers and megalomaniacs who get together twice a year at CanCon and now WinterCon to put on a massive wargame of one sort or another.

We did a large 55 Days game at WinterCon this year and will follow up with it's big brother at CanCon over the Australia Day long weekend.

Next year's CanCon will be set in the Sudan and it looks (not to put too fine a point on it) MASSIVE.

Ideas being kicked around are a three-days' long campaign involving:

The River Column
The Desert Column
The Seige of Khartoum

or

All three!

At the moment, all's to play for but my money's on the "all three" option.

So the preliminary work involves looking at the historical orbats and then juggling figure numbers to get appropriate unit sizes - if you want bit briish Units, you need 4-8 times as many Mahdists and we are wanting 200 or more British and a similar number of Egyptians in Khartoum! 1500 or more Mahdists might do it. Even with some Gilderesque tricks, that's still a formidable number of troops. Oddly though, if enough of us pitch in, our existing collections will take us most of the way there (especially for the British) and well, there are always the Perry Mahdists in plastic...

Then there is the planning. How are we going to put on the game? What sort of game will it be? For myself, I'd like to see a co-operative game with the players all on the one side (which one :^)) with the Mahdists either run by the Umpire or (another Gilder touch) some species of reaction table. Then there are the rules - probably home-baked and based on the 55 Days ruleset we've written. And the terrain...

Where's MS Project when you need it?

From the Zareba...

As though on a Field Day, the Highlanders march into the Zareba

I stop, my glass half-raised to my lips.

Pipes?

Surely not.

The improbably green sward

It is! Oh, they've come! Hurrah for the Highlanders and Hurrah! for the Glen Moray!

Going forth again - Into the Sudan

Outside the rain beats down, drops snaking unhurried down the pane. It has been a long and wet winter this time around.

I shudder at the sudden chill and reach for the tumbler of Glen Moray and water beside me. It warms me a little, the rich, oily aroma seems everywhere.

Can I do this again? I look to Snook for inspiration, but all I see is him cocking one at Gladstone over 130 years' distance in time and an infinity in understanding.

Featherstone then, and Barthorp. Connoisseur, Willie and a touch of Stadden where I can for the horseflesh. Yes. The old boys will do it. The old gang.

I am stirred a little. There are those old Connoisseur Highlanders in a box somewhere. I think I know where.

Like the waves, I advance a little more with each attempt.

I can do it.

The things you find....

Uh-oh. Serious trouble.

I was messing about in the car-port this evening after work (as you do) when I found what I thought was a box of Castaway Arts Indian Army figures. Now, it contained just that, but imagine also my surprise to find:

4 early Ansar;
15 Hadendowah and;
10 late Jiadiyyah riflemen.

Is this synchronicity?

Just one small order and I can add two more TSatF units to my Mahadist collection...

This is how new projects start for me. I already have the bones of a Mahdist army - about 7 TSatF units. Oh, and I also just found about 5-6 Conoisseur Fuzzies, to boot.

This means trouble.

And a new blog label.

"Sudan".