The recent massive release of figures from Tile Foundry concern a period that, as far as I know, has never before been addressed by a figure manufacturer. These figures are focussed on the Victorian 'Scramble for Africa', featuring what appears to be all possible involved parties. The figures, by Mark Copplestone, are typical of the Foundry style, '28mm' scale, and generally marvellous. Those of you who have seen any of the Foundry's ranges know the style -detailed but not exaggerated, a mix of aniniated and standing, with a lot of 'character' figures of considerable charm and humour. They aren't cheap, but they are the top of the line. Rather than go through the line looking at the figures individually, let's look at them in the context of accuracy of appearance. Do these little fellas look right? Yes they do. At the start there are two packs of European explorers, one of named characters. (Livingstone, Stanley, Speke, Burton, Peters and, er, Tarzan.) These are based on period photographs (except for, er, the last one) and are spot-on. The second pack is of generic explorer/great white hunter types (one is a fat Teddy Roosevelt look-alike), and what impressed me especially is the specifically French/German look to the pith helmets on two figures who are suggested as, well, foreigners. Very subtle differences, very subtle figures. Supporting these intrepid pioneers/colonialist exploiters/complete bloody lunatics with massive firepower arc two packs of porters/bearers. You'll need lots of these, as porterage was the only means of transport across the Tsetse fly belt of central Africa, which causes all pack animals except the occasional tough donkey to join its ancestors in short order. To defend the column are four packs of askaris, mostly in fezzes (white, red or black), some bareheaded or in turbans, and short cotton kilts. These would do well in almost any cast/central African context as Swahilis for the Zanzibari slavers, for Mirarnbo's Nyamwezi, or perhaps for tile settled peoples of the lake regions. There are five packs of Zanzibari Arabs, these being tile Muslim population of Zanzibar and the coastal cities, a racial mix of Omani Arab and tile already multiracial Swahili coastal people. Usually thought of by westerners as slavers, their main economic activity was actually ivory hunting, though their approach to this was considerably different to the Big White Hunter. In fact, they preferred to bully local villages into handing over existing stocks of ivory, and took slaves as free porters to carry the tusks before being sold themselves as a secondary function of the deal. Capitalism's a wonderful thing. Based onphotographs and period illustrations, these are long-robed men in turbans and fezzes, often with sharp Arab faces. They don't look like the camel-riding desert Arabs we are programmed to think of The character pack is great for Tippu Tib and other leaders. Alongside the Zanzibaris are two packs of Baluchis in Indian dress and two in Arabian dress. The Baluchis (various spellings) were recruited from the hill tribes of Baluchistan. essentially the southern end of the North-West Frontier of India. and served as all-purpose mercenaries in the Persian Gulf region Zanzibar being culturally tied to this area by its Omani ruling class and by older tied to tile Persian coastal city of Shiraz. One assumes that every Gulf area mercenary became known as a Baluchi, accurately or not. Certainly these two packs of Arabian dress figures represent What Richard Burton termed 'Gulf Arabs', shaggy-haired men wrapped in beach towels. who Would do well as slaver ship crews from the Yemen or Oman. These definitely don't look like out prototypical Arab (tile Lawrence-of-Arabia style from the Hejaz in west-central Arabia). Moving into Africa itself we have four packs of workmanlike (though possibly a bit mundane) speamien, generic black men with cropped hair and loincloths, who will need spears and shields added from a variety of choices. These are placed with packs in various feather headgear, plumes, braids and. 'wild hair'. These could be used as different tribes, as leader figures, as clans or societies within the tribe, or simply as more ostentatious and stylish types. Many years of looking at Victorian illustrations and photographs suggests to me that uniformity was by no means the norm among African peoples, and that when you see an engraving of several shields/spears/throwing knives, each with a neat tribal designation, you ought not to assume this was 100% authentic government issue stuff. If you want your African groups in generally similar kit for your own identification purposes - which seems sensible - just don't make inflated claims as to precise accuracy. There are two packs of archers and two of musketeers. some of the latter showing an interesting lack of familiarity with their weapons. There are figures of leaders and 'spearmen characters', my favourites of which are a fellow with a surprised -looking explorer's head on a spear, accompanied by a man in a much-gashed European jacket which one assumes... To accompany these are packs of villagers, woman and children, and senior chiefs being tyrannical. All very nice indeed. Much to be admired arc three character packs of 'Rugga-Rugga', these being mercenaries, brigands, slavers and general trouble-makers, African warriors with firearms and outrageous clothing of mixed Arab/ African origin. You can use these for all kinds of people - Manyuema slavers. Mirambo's Nyamwezi forces who fought tile Arabs. Msiri's Katanga warriors, west African 'warboys', mixed with selected figures from other packs. I have a small (ho ho) criticism of the pygmies. Some - not all - appear a touch too big. I mean, if somebody introduced you to somebody who was, say, 5'5" would you think they were a pygmy or simply a bit short? You might say that actual Bambuti persons of the Aruwimi forest were not Afro-Hobb its, and you'd be correct, but I can't see enough height difference between these chaps and the godlike 28mms. Maybe, as a person who needs thick socks to reach 5"8" himself, I have a psychological need for my pygmies to be more clearly dwarven. Otherwise they are very nice figures, suitably crinkly of skin (this is not the correct dermatogical/anthropological term, I appreciate), and would do really well for the Dorobo ('the Old People') of Kenya- Fatizania who are related to the Twa/Bambuti of the forests but are, er, a bit taller. You call tell why National Geographic never gave me a job, can't yOU? The Masai are just grite, as my Brummic relatives would say. Bostin' in fact. These blokes make the Zulus seem like accountants; naked ochre- smeared juvenile delinquents in ostrich feather headdresses, big shields and the kind of spears that would certainly concern me a great deal. They own all the cattle in the world, you know, and are trying to get their cows back. No, I swear --- The spears are of a broad-bladed model popular in the mid C19th, which, according to the early 1900s ethnologist Hollis was being replaced by a newfangled type with a long thin blade. Maybe they'll make these. Nobody ever really beat the Masai. ever. It was rinderpest among the herds and tribal civil conflict that brought them down. Lastly, and I think it's fair to say, least historically, we have two packs of warrior women. Not Dahomey Amazons (a burly crew from the pictures), or Mutesa of Buganda's female guard, but slender young women in tassels and feathers and not a great deal else. Maybe Mark Copplestone can give a reference that I don't have. I suspect these arc primarily meant as interesting African fantasy pieces, and as someone who is quite willing to mix Tarzan and the City of Ohir and King Solomon's Mines in with quite serious historical research, I'm not going to complain. Very nice. I've just painted up my safari of explorers, askaris, porters and personal servants, and will work on some Masai next. I have a Couple Of 'Small' games in mind, a Masai lion bunt and a big game hunt for the Europeans, using plastic zoo animals, who will be incredibly lethal and well organised; we'll see how Teddy Roosevelt deals with Psycho-hippo and the famous banzai elephant drill team... Back to Dispatch Jun. 99 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com