I have continued with the WW1 Middle East theme from my last post by making some very simple supply wagons for both the Turkish and British forces. I often end up with spare cavalry figures after painting units, as the HaT 1:72 scale figure boxes usually contain 16 figures while my cavalry units are made up of 12 figures. Rather than leaving the spare figures unused, I decided to put them to use as wagon teams.
 |
| The British wagons on the move. |
 |
| Turkish wagons guarded by cavalry. |
The wagons themselves are simple scratch-builds. They made from off-cuts of wood, with balsa-wood shaped to form the canopy. The wheels are made from washers and card glued together. Each wagon is drawn by one of the spare cavalry figures and a horse with the saddle removed. Like much of my WW1 armies, they are very basic models with any detail painted on so they look the part when viewed on the tabletop.
 |
| The almost completed wagon. The toothpick axles just have to be trimmed. |
 |
| The wheels begin as washers glued to card. Once the glue is dry, they are cut out. This approach provides a nice round wheel with a good thickness. |
 |
| A toothpick acts as the axle. |
 |
| Any remaining wagon detail is painted on. I will often use a combination of a dark colour and lighter colour when painting details such as the wheel spokes. |
Alongside the wagons I also completed a couple of howitzers crewed with some spare Indian figures that were converted and an officer. These will provide the British forces with some more artillery support. Again all the figures and models are HaT 1:72 scale (although the officers may be ESCI - not sure as the come from my spares box).
 |
| Indian crewed Howitzers |
My next project arrived a couple of weeks ago. A large box with a selection of HaT 1/72 plastic figures for the Anglo-Zulu War. Prior to doing much with these kits, I have been waiting for a couple of second-hand books to arrive. This project was not planned, it was opportunistic, and came about when I saw Hannants.co.uk had a good number of boxes of HaT Zulus boxes available in stock.
 |
| The next project arrives. |
 |
| Some reading. |
 |
| Possible rules. |
More on this project in the coming weeks (and months) as it progresses...
Peter, I am always amazed at your craftiness. Supply wagons look great! New project? Excellent!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the new project. I am giving some thought to how to base the troops and the best way to paint them.
DeleteThe wagons are awesome Peter. Very clever.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the Zulus. Do you have enough? I believe you need thousands of them sir. 😁
I have 600 Zulus. I made a mistake when ordering and inadvertently doubled the order.
Delete600! 😮
DeleteBarely enough 😂Lucky mistake.
There be hundreds of them!
DeleteExcellent wagons 👍🏼. You’re a very skilled and imaginative modeller, Peter…and the AZW project should be a fun addition to the gaming arsenal.
ReplyDeleteThey were nice and simple to make too.
DeleteAwesome scratch work Peter!
ReplyDeleteLove it ❤️
It is always fun when a scratch build works out.
DeleteFantastic wagons Peter
ReplyDeleteI now need to get them on to the tabletop.
DeleteI like the wagons- you’ve done an excellent job on them. I’ve found this whole project very inspirational. It’s kicked off my one for this period.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The gunner officer is Emhar.
Good luck with your project and thanks for the info on the maker of the officer.
DeleteThose wagons look great Peter and nice to see you are nor resting on your laurels, with another project in the offing!
ReplyDeleteThe Zulus will be my big project for 2026.
DeleteThe wagons looks really good. Did you use gesso on the cover?
ReplyDeleteI first covered them in PVA glue, then did a light sanding, particularly of the balsa-wood.
DeleteThank you
DeleteGood luck with the Zulu stuff - I tried this about 6 years ago and got so fed up with all the flash I didn’t manage to paint a single figure.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping a very simple painting approach will show me to maintain momentum.
DeleteThose wagons are great - your whole collection really has a fabulous old-school look.
ReplyDeleteThe old school look is one I was aiming for. Thanks.
DeleteHi Peter. Your wargaming scratch builds are very impressive. I use the Men Who Would Be Kings rules for gaming the Sudan. I love the rules because of these features: they are simple but work very well, have several generic scenarios, build forces using a point system, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe rules look interesting and I will be giving them a go.
DeleteFantastic example of your great scratch building skills.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to use up those spare figures and create something new.
DeleteExcellent work sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Troops always need supplies.
DeleteYou’ve done a lovely job with the wagons. For a little variety you might consider using tissue paper for the canvas covering (maybe you could have the rear opening slit slightly open and “flapping in the breeze).
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
The tissue is a good idea. I will have to remember the next time.
Delete