The Middle East WW1 (Mesopotamia, and Palestine) project began with the ordering of one each of the pre-packed Divisional packs of British and Turkish figures from Irregular Miniatures. The start of the project was delayed while I awaited cataract surgery but finally things are under way. Today marked a milestone. I have completed the painting and basing of everything that came in each of the packs. Now that is not the end of the project. I always aim to complete two divisions, or usually a Corps, for each side. The Irregular packs are a cost effective way of bulking out the armies, but that leaves me with the task of sorting out how much is now needed to complete the two divisions. The TOEs are per the Great War Spearhead rules. Each base represents a company or equivalent.
The British pack gave me almost one division of infantry, although one of the Brigades is ANZAC troops, and the force is seriously short of Indian infantry. The make up for these will not be another divisional pack, but rather an order by the individual pack. I also now need to order the trench mortars, and some more artillery crews (I have enough guns left over from a previous project to fill those gaps). I never model ALL of a division' and corp' artillery assets, as inevitably I play with some of them off table.
The Turkish pack gave me one complete division of infantry, plus a few more, more than enough MMGs, and the divisional cavalry, plus a few more. There were however no artillery guns, so that will be another pack by pack part of the next order. To complete the Turkish Corp however, a second Divisional Pack will do the business.
My painting methodology is as follows:
- figures spray undercoated black
- base uniform colour wet brushed, ensuring that black is left showing in recesses
- all figures dry brushed with a light colour (sand colour for British, light grey for Turkish)
- flesh, and gun barrels, painted with a fine brush
- strips glued to bases
- base built up with a compound which in NZ is called 'No More Gaps'
- base painted in a base colour of dark brown
- watered down PVA applied to bases, and then dunked in fine beach sand
- once dry, the sand is dry brushed with a light colour, base edges are painted in black, and static grass and 'stones' spot glued on to bases
- labels cut and glued to the back of the bases
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| The Turkish division - infantry and cavalry |
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| Detail of base labelling, British division |
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| British division not quite complete |
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| The Turkish Division HQ stand |
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| Turkish cavalry |
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| Turkish cavalry again |
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| Close-up of Turkish base labels |
Now, the tedious task of determining exactly what the next order needs to include to complete each Corp... see you on the other side.
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