Indian Mutiny / First Indian War of Independence Project

Started by paulr, 05 July 2022, 01:01:31 AM

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Steve J

Good points Alexander. I feel these sort of games, like many, would be greatly enhanced by playing them as part of a campaign, rather than single battles. Then the 'irregulars' at least have a fighting chance.

paulr

Good points FK

Steve, I am basing this project on the campaign to relieve Cawnpore and Lucknow
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paulr

The first two battalions have been prepared and undercoated :)

I've sorted all the figures and my calculations appear to have worked out :o  #:-S
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paulr

As I start painting the first two units I need to finalise the design of my unit labels

Some people prefer no labels at all and I understand many of the arguments for this

With our group playing so many different periods and rule sets we find clear labels invaluable

The labels need to clearly show:
  • what side a unit is on
  • the brigade the unit is part of
  • the name of the unit
  • the rule stats needed for the unit

For my ECW and AWI forces I've used blue and green backgrounds for the labels to identify the sides.
This won't work for my arid base cloth which is a sandy colour.

I can use a similar sandy colour for the labels of the Indian troops. But what colour should I use for the Company units?
I want something that doesn't stand out too much.

I'm also going to use flags to differentiate between the Queens and Company units and the different Indian contingents.

I'll be using my coloured box approach to show the side, brigade and battalion.

Below are examples of some AWI labels and some initial thoughts on some labels for this project. I'm open to thoughts or suggestions on how to improve the labels

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fred.

Your labels look good - you get a lot more info on them than I manage.

You say the 3 boxes cover side, brigade and battalion. But I'm struggling to see how side works, looking at the flags too. 

I think the blue vs green works well to show the two sides for AWI, and is probably more important for the mutiny as I think the flags will be less familiar to the players. I'd probably go for the brown and sand/yellow that you have used for the two Bengal examples as the two base colours. 
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mmcv

I like the light yellow ones.

My only thought on the brown would be the contrast might be a bit low as the black on the brown is less noticeable than the others. The darker yellow is similar, though may just be the screen. Possibly a few shades lighter on the brown background?

Another possibility, would a kind of light stoney grey fit okay with the base sheet?



 hex code #918E85 or similar

John Cook

Quote from: fsn on 04 August 2022, 05:33:11 PMAlthough a keen student of the Napoleonic wars, Assaye doesn't interest me.
Odd that, although Napoleonic is where wargaming all started for me, several decades ago, and I've read about Wellington's Indian campaigns, they don't float my boat either. 
Anyway, it is good to know that I'm not alone by any stretch of the imagination and having looked at all the replies - thanks for that - I think I know what the problem is.
I do like large battles but my perception of so many colonial adversaries is that they seem to be amorphous mobs with no apparent organization that I can get to grips with. 
I also use a 10:1 ratio for all my armies from the 11th to 19th centuries so the prospect of having to paint 2000 Zulus, for example, does not appeal and that is another perception.  They all seem so drab and uninteresting from a painting point of view.
Happy to be persuaded otherwise and I have to confess that the Zulu War is an itch I have not yet scratched for all those reasons.

paulr

Quote...You say the 3 boxes cover side, brigade and battalion. But I'm struggling to see how side works, looking at the flags too...
First box is the side
  • Red for the Queens/Company
  • Orange for the Indians -saffron dovetail flag of the Maratha Empire
Second box is the brigade - Red, Blue, Yellow, Green...
Third box is the battalion within the brigade- Red, Blue, Yellow, Green...

HM 84th is Queens/Company, first brigade, second battalion

Quote...probably more important for the mutiny as I think the flags will be less familiar to the players...
Definitely more important as the Indians were still carrying the Company issued colours, with Union Jacks!
The only Red coated units will be 2 battalions of Oudh Infantry (on the Indian side)

Quote from: mmcv on 05 August 2022, 08:34:55 AMI like the light yellow ones.

My only thought on the brown would be the contrast might be a bit low as the black on the brown is less noticeable than the others. The darker yellow is similar, though may just be the screen. Possibly a few shades lighter on the brown background?

Another possibility, would a kind of light stoney grey fit okay with the base sheet?
Thanks, I shall try some experiments, light stoney grey is a possibility I hadn't thought of

Also just describing the issue has been useful in clarifying my thinking
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John Cook

Quote from: paulr on 05 August 2022, 07:34:26 AMSome people prefer no labels at all and I understand many of the arguments for this
I like your labels very much and have evolved a similar system which is common for all my armies.  I must say, though, I have never had a problem identifying which side units are on.  It is pretty much evident from their appearance, flags and so on.
My coloured boxes tend to be pretty discrete, though visible from a players view point.  Bottom left of the stand are up to three differently coloured boxes for the unit, the brigade (or equivalent) and division (or equivalent) if necessary.  Bottom right is a coloured box for the corps if necessary. 
The unit box also has the unit identifying number on it, essentially its rank within the formation of which it is part. 
Only the command element has the unit name on it, black on a white strip   I experimented with differently coloured strips but they only caused confusion and tended to 'disappear' at a distance from the viewer.  So I went with a universal white strip with black lettering, which stands out against all kinds of backgrounds, a long time ago.
Full unit details, weapons, number of men, commanding officer, that kind of thing, is on the underside and is really only a repeat of what is in the army list anyway.
The system is also a storage solution as much as anything else and indispensable in that context.   

fred.

Thanks for the further explanation Paul - I think orange vs red is probably going to be hard to pick out the differences on the table. Keeping red for the British seems a given in this era! So whether a blue or green work for the Indians. 

John - as to telling sides apart does rather depend on the period and the sides. ECW and Indian Mutiny both seem like conflicts where a lot of units dressed very similarly on both sides - I suppose not uncommon in a Civil War. 
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John Cook

Quote from: fred. on 05 August 2022, 12:37:54 PMJohn - as to telling sides apart does rather depend on the period and the sides. ECW and Indian Mutiny both seem like conflicts where a lot of units dressed very similarly on both sides - I suppose not uncommon in a Civil War.

It is a fair point.  I have quite large ECW armies, and medieval where distinctive uniforms also don't exist, but I have still never encountered a problem knowing which side a unit was on.

paulr

Thanks Fred, yes the orange vs red is one of the main reasons I'm looking at distinctive backgrounds to the labels. Green would work for Muslim Indians but not Hindu... I'll probably do away with the first box if I find backgrounds that work.

Thanks John, I don't have a problem identifying units but then I painted them :)
For those less familiar with the period it can be a challenge. Skin tone will help for some units but not all

These two standards illustrate the challenge, they will be 10mm square
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paulr

Jackets/Shirts base coated and dry brushed :)

I'm pleased with the combinations of base coats and dry brushes, they give a suitably varied collection of dirty 'whites'

I'm going for a scruffy campaign look rather than parade ground appearance
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John Cook

Quote from: paulr on 06 August 2022, 12:34:50 AMThanks John, I don't have a problem identifying units but then I painted them :)
For those less familiar with the period it can be a challenge. Skin tone will help for some units but not all

I can see now, how it might be a problem in a club setting where there are lots of potential players involved.  I don't belong to a club, my armies don't 'travel' and I game with a few individuals who are familiar with all the periods we play. 

pierre the shy

To get some idea of the actual size here are the flags that I have done for Paul in 10mm for this project....


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