These are homecast Zinnbrigade Prussian artillery men with my sepoy heads. The mule is from. Irregular. I'm pretty sure no gunners in 1914 wore Blue puttees but I like 'em. Now I need a name. I dislike using historical unit names if I'm going to use them in campaigns that they never fought in.
The gun is a 90 year old toy that came with a mixed bag of 54's from the original owner's widow a decade ago. Its a little crude in places yet the carriage has the typical lines of rivets. I'm not sure about its make or what it was intended to be. It was certainly too small for the 54's. Last week I noticed a 40mm gunner standing beside it and thought "40mm toy soldier mountain gun"!
The grey paint is in rough shape but I am undecided about repainting a 90 year old veteran even if it has no monetary value.
So you want a name? . . . Hmmm, how about . . . the "Turbanfed Artillery"?
ReplyDeleteAlso I like the "worn" look of the gun . . . so I think that I would not paint it.
-- Jeff
Thanks Jeff, Noted.
DeleteExcellent unit Ross.I think the gun looks just fine as it is.
ReplyDeleteAs for a name-
Macfarlane's Battery - Aye every ready, Name after it's commanding officer/
I do try to keep my real name off unit's but it is a possibility. Most of them have territorial name but there was a Jacob's Battery.
DeleteLike this grouping , always had a weakness for Mountain Guns myself .
ReplyDeleteMe too, and the gun fits nicely on the mule for marching!
DeleteLooking at your Zinnbrigade conversions make me want to try more of them myself. Do you make your own heads or do you use plug heads from old manufacturers? I have a few old plug heads I've used myself. I'm a big fan of old toy cannons, especially ones you can fire. I still have never repainted them. Your cannon looks like it has seen some hard campaigning.
ReplyDeleteI do both. It depends on what I have. These heads came from another figure, an original. I just decapitated them and threw them back in the pot. The metal I use is a bit hard and I find drilling a hole tedious (and hard on drill bits) but without a pin or plug a head swap is just too fragile for gaming based on past experience, When I can I try converting the head but sometimes that is too hard or too tedious for more than 1.
DeleteI suspect this gun saw much action in the 1920's and 30's.
How about the Boomgalore Battery? Both descriptive and suggestive of Bangalore.
ReplyDeleteChris
Oh, I like that one! \only 1 small problem, Bangalore is in the south and the mountain batteries were pretty much all from the north but it might serve yet. Its also given me some more ideas.
Delete(I like Boomgalore. ha ha)
ReplyDeleteNice battery, figures, mule and gun! I also like the gun just the way it is.
Yes the gun does have a certain charm that repainting might lessen.
DeleteThey are quite fine Ross, very old school charming. I second Chris's suggestion. Alternatively the Hyderabad Howitzers? (Granted it's not a Howitzer, but it alliterates )
ReplyDeleteAnother bit of grist for the thought mill. Thanks.
DeleteInspired casting! and I think the mule looks like a very steadfast beast. The gun looks to be by the French firm S&R (Simon & Rivolet), a prolific manufacturer of toy ordnance in several sizes.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Brian