Zulu War 28mm Figure Ranges

As part of my Zulu Wars project I started listing all the suppliers who produce 28mm ranges for this period. I am sure that this has been done before somewhere else (but I couldn't find it) and if any ranges are missing please let me know.

In no particular order here are the manufacturers and a short summary of what they produce

Rapier Miniatures

Looks like an interesting range but have not been able to comment on quality, size etc

tp://www.rapierminiatures.co.uk/page/Range/28mm_Zulu_Wars.html


Empress Miniatures

Probably the most exhaustive of all the suppliers out there. I know they fit well with the Warlord Games plastic range.They are also one of the priciest (see table below). Those that I have seen look great

http://www.empressminiatures.com/page3.htm

AW Miniatures
]
Interesting range but again not seen any figures to comment. I do have some of their SYW range and they are excellent.

edit: I have now bought some of their Lancers (considerably cheaper than Empress) - these are on the large size compared to Warlord
http://www.awminiatures.co.uk/store/category.php?id=204


Redoubt Enterprises

Cant really comment on this range but have heard good and bad things. I'll be visiting their stand at colours in Newbury this September so will have a better perspective then.

http://www.redoubtenterprises.com/shop/?page=shop/index

Wargames Foundry

Can't forget these guys. really nice figures but pricy. Individuals look great


http://www.wargamesfoundry.com/our-ranges/colonial/zulu-wars

Black Tree Design

I love these guys and have bought Zulus, Brits and Boers from these chaps. Make sure you take advantage of their weekly sales. Prices quoted below are for standard price but the sales typically knock 30% off.

http://eoeorbisuk.com/


Warlord Games

The best bet for plastic (ie cheap ranges) and the big box sets can be picked up on ebay for significant discounts. The prices quoted below in the tablebelow are for standard prices

https://store.warlordgames.com/

Wargames Factory

These guys produce two plastic boxes one of Zulus and one of Brits. I bought the Zulus to mix in with the Warlord Games ones for variety and they work. The Online store appears to be closed but boxes of 30 can be found on ebay for 20GBP


Baker Company

Never heard of these guys until I started searching the internet. Small range of British Infantry and Naval units

http://bakercompany.co.uk/29-british-army

Newline Designs

Although they do an extensive 20mm range they do appear to have some 28mm Boers


http://newlinedesigns.co.uk/index.php?main_page=page&id=23&chapter=10

finally its worth checking out Northstars Africa Range - includes animals, matabele (substitutesc for Zulus) , Porters etc

http://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?&man=87&page=5


Price Summary

It is clear that plastic offers the best price to field the hordes of Zulus

Manufacturer	Infantry Cost (GBP)	Cavalry Cost (GBP)	Artillery Cost (GBP)
Rapier	1.00	2.5	7.00
Empress	1.75	4.25	13.00
AW Miniatures	1.25	2.83	n/a
Foundry	1.25	4.00	17.00
Black Tree	1.43	2.45	7.99
Warlord Games (Plastic)	.62	n/a	n/a
Wargames Factory	.75	n/a	n/a
Redoubt	1.40	2.90	8.00
Newline	1.25	n/a	n/a
Baker Company	1.12	n/a	n/a

Please note that these prices are based on 23/08/16. They are standard prices (eg standard pack of four figures divided by four to give single price). Many of these suppliers offer multi discounts, pack deals etc.

Artillery prices typically include crew

The prices exclude postage

Colonial Wars - British Army Started

Hi Folks

Following 2 weeks of idleness in the Portuguese sun I am slowly getting back in the groove.

Whilst away Postie delivered a rather interesting parcel. The Warlord Games Plastic Army starter set for the British. I sourced this on ebay for 55 GB pounds ( they sell for 75 pounds on the official site).

These are of course for my Zulu Wars project...to read the Zulu Army project click here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/the-colonial-wars-zulu-part-1.html

The box contains 60 British Infantry, 20 NNC Natives, a couple of mounted officers and a gatling gun with three crew. So each figure works out at about 60p. Remember we are trying to build these armies on a budget

The Natives Sprue is virtually identical to the standard zulu sprues, with the noticeable differences being the heads are adorned with bandanas (to be painted red), and the weapons include a quiver of javelins.

To be blunt I was rather disappointed when I examined the British Infantry sprues - each sprue carries four bodies. Rather annoyingly two of these are kneeling. I do like different poses on my figures but to have half a core set in this pose is just wrong. There appears to be four different rifle positions and a number of head options. So we can deliver some variety.

The horse officers (Pulleine & Melville) come from Warlords alliance with Empress and their is a rather useful gatling gun witrh three crew to round things off

I'll begin assembling the plastics in the coming days and share how these differ to the Black Tree Brits I bought a few weeks back, however a quick examination by eye suggests that these guys might be 1mm taller and a bit chunkier but they will add some variety to the plastic set. Furthermore all the Black Tree ones are standing up !

So in total I have around 100 British Infantry. These will be assembled into 16 figure companies although I'll have some flexibility to reduce/increase these to twelves/sixteens by using a number of 2 x 2 bases.


More to come soon


Part 2 can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/colonial-wars-british-army-part-2.html

Colonial Wars - Zulu Army Finished !

Its been the best part of six weeks since I started this project and I can now report it is complete !

420 Zulus painted, dipped, varnished based and arrayed for battle !

part 1 of this project can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/colonial-wars-zulu-part-4.html

They look pretty imposing en masse

When laid out in two ranks the force stretches over six feet (2 metres)

The bosses are all mounted on 80mm discs from warbases

All the units have different shield designs...with their own respective commanders

Better start on the Brits now...

talking of which the first post on the Brits can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/colonial-wars-british-army-started.html

and don't forget to check out my list of all the 28mm Manufacturers providing figures for this period

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/zulu-war-28mm-figure-ranges.html

Battle of Britain - a new Kickstarter

A big thank you to Alastair of a wargaming gallimaufry fame for bringing to my attention this Kickstarter.

Having always been fascinated by the Battle of Britain (and don't you just love the movie of the same name) I decided to back this deal.

I love strategic board games like these so it was a bit of a no brainer...

you can find all the details here

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1992455033/battle-of-britain

I can here it now....Dakka Dakka Dakka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4DZU8aFMc

The Shed Extension part 10

Morning All

Another busy weekend in the garden and continuing works on the new improved Shed.

Part 9 can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/the-shed-extension-part-9.html


I think I can safely say that I am getting towards the conclusion of this project which will not only be good for my sanity but also my wallet.

So here here goes with a progress report. First up I moved the window from the old back wall and cut this into the wall of the new shed. The single window wasn't giving enough light so I removed another from the first extension and put this one as well. The light certainly makes a difference but also ventilation is much improved.

The second job was to finish off the cupboard (Or should I say shed within a shed) for Mrs Shed. Part of the agreement I had with her was to allocate some of this new space to her storage needs. This was all framed out (including internal roof, hardboard lined and painted. She can move in one her racking turns up.

Next up was to get all the lights working inside. I had previously installed the florescent tubes but had not wired these in. With some trepidation I finished the circuitry and flicked the switch. They all work.

With light inside I was able to assemble the first of the shelving racks that arrived. These are all 90 cm long and 2 metres tall. The box says that each shelf can support 200kg. Don't think I have that much lead.I havce some 30cm deep shelves on order which will fit neatly in the space on the left.



You can also see how much space Mrs Shed's cupboard has taken up.. the area to the back left. By putting the roof on the cupboard I get to use the space above for storage

With the racks done I can now think about transfering the crap that has accumulated on the games table (we are playing tonight !)

The next job is to build my workbench in here. See below.

I have also installed a plug socket for the various tools to be used

With the weekend drawing to a close... a quick final job. Build a new wood store. The last one had fallen apart and with so many offcuts spread arpound the area from the shed build I wanted to get these under cover pronto. We use the wood in our Chimenea on the patio

More soon


The final part of the Shed Build can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/the-shed-build-finished.html