Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Thirty Mahdists

Another project finished.  The figures have been in my possession since December 2014 when I received them as part of the post NWS Kris Kringle shuffle.

I started work on them in December last year, The Mahdists are Coming, so it has taken me just under three months to complete them.

Flags came from http://www.warflag.com/flags/colonial/dervish.shtml

 A bit of over exposure.

Now corrected, but I liked the previous bright glare of the hot Sudan sun, 
so kept that photo in the mix.

 When I say complete...  Well, this base...

 Is different to this one.  In the previous base the figures are resting on an extra washer that gives then just that bit of extra height so their base sits better with the movement tray.

 For what is a simple uniform, the flesh tones took me the most time, then I put in some double work on the white tunics.  But the coloured patches were easy.  
It helped that I was working on other projects while doing these.

The flags, as noted, were images sourced from the Internet and printed, folded, crushed and glued.
Also, note on this figure that I have him sitting on a second washer which would be the next task if I decide to raise them all so they sit flusher with the sabot.

 It took me a few brain cycles to finally settle on how I was going to base the figures.  I am very happy with what I came up with as it was relatively easy to do, versatile and provides other opportunities. 


I had these 25mm slotted magnetic bases I was going to use and I figured doing a sabot that would then be affixed to a metal base was the way to go.  This failed as the base size for Sands of the Sudan would have only accommodated four figures (as it is the recommended basing is 7 to 10), but worse my 25mm bit meant it was all too tight to reliable drill out four holes (as can be seen above).  Plus the 25mm bases would have been a snug fit.  I then switched to 20mm plastic bases and a 20mm bit but that would also have been a tight fit as well and still left me with the magnetisation to do.  But then I found the miracle ingredient:


These washers were perfect, coming in at 18mm made for a decent fit.  I glued the drilled out MDF base to a backing of magnetic paper (actually one of those fridge magnets that are now prevalent in mailbox drop advertising material).  I painted the MDF first which made life easy.

Terrain


 And here we have the thirty Mahdists swarming over my latest bits of desert terrain.

 I wanted ridges and cliffs.

 But more importantly I just need a bit more to supplement my previous production.


6 comments:

  1. Nice looking troops and flags. You’re right, the over exposed pic fits the mood. 😀

    I’ve had my own troubles with figures fitting on movement trays, so I know how you feel.

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    1. Thanks. Sadly I don't know the brand, but the faces are most expressive.

      I still have to be careful which figures go on to which slot to get all the waving flags and arms and swords to fit together.

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  2. These are very nicley done Mark. The Old Glory castings have come up a treat and I think I may have come across a few odds and sods more than you are welcome to add to teh collection mate. See you at the club next week.

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    1. Thanks Carlo. And now I know they are Old Glory. Spiffing!

      Any odds and sods appreciated.

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  3. A colorful and fearsome batch of warriors popped off your painting desk. Nice job! What color do you use for the undercoat on these Dervish?

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    1. Thanks.

      I started with a spray can of Tamiya Flat White. It didn't quiet cover the 30 figures. So I started patching with Jo Sonja's Nimrod Grey and some of whites in the same range. Also Tamiya Flat White from a jar. I wasn't totally happy so I then gave them all a wash with Nulon Oil (Games Workshop). This was applied with a brush in a few layers depending on my mood. The result was a very dirty white and that served as the undercoat.

      Top coat was various applications of Jo Sonja Unbleached Titanium White sometimes with a bit of Provincial Beige mixed in (the colour that I had used for the flesh tone on a number of them - before a wash). The paint was thinned so it was more like floating the paint on and I had to be careful it didn't pool in the crevices which of course I wanted to stay with the grey dirty white colour of the undercoat. As it was I didn't have any problems. I was working from a palette which made it easy to change the paint consistency. It all dried pretty quick (height of summer down here) and that helped with the process.

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