Timothy Boyd

A note from my continuing campaign to paint enough Northwest Frontier figures so that I can ‘have’ a continuing campaign--- Looking at some photos of Victorian India, I found myself thinking about tasks for troops other than slaughtering the locals in a late-19th-century colonial setting and road-building, bridge-building, and setting up and maintaining telegraph lines immediately came to mind.  (Just remember that great scene in the 1939 Gunga Din where the sepoys and their sergeants--and where is the officer who should be in charge? --march off to the village infested with followers of Kali in order to restore the telegraph.) 

This led me to imagine scenarios like:

1. A detachment of pioneers, accompanied by a bn. of Indian infantry and a mountain gun, is sent to repair a bridge destroyed by local tribesmen

2. A punitive column, sent into the mountains, is stopped by a steep slope, a raging and un-bridged torrent--on the far side of the torrent is the enemy

3. The telegraph line is constantly being cut between the advanced base of an invasion force and the camp of the main body--a detachment of engineers and infantry is sent to repair and protect it.

In each of these scenarios, there's a chance for some desperate action:  a bridge-building which turns into an ambush, an attack which can only be made if the wild terrain is mastered, protecting communications against an enemy smart enough to see how to threaten them.  But where can you find the construction figures to take part in such actions? 

I began with a unit of 25mm Sikh pioneers from Frontier which I had bought long ago from the old Modelers Mart (has someone picked up the Frontier lines?  lots of useful stuff here).  These are all in the usual "advancing" position and, though just fine for the pioneers in the attack mode, would hardly be convincing as diggers and choppers and sawyers.  I had, as well, a bag of Indian drivers/mountain gunners from Ral Partha (now available again from Star Books and Games, 3848 Tower Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45248, sbgames999@aol.com).  These are all open-handed figures and fairly pliable.

Digging down into my spares box, I added to these a certain number of kneeling mountain gunners from Hinchliffe (now from The Colonial Connection, Dept MW, 226 Wareham's Point, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8923, colconx@webtv.net).  The Ral Partha and Hinchliffe figures would do fine, I thought, as pioneers--provided that I could find tools for them.  These I located in a box of WWII-era bits-and-pieces from the Japanese firm Bandai ("Field Work Accessory; 1/48 scale; Pin Point Series No.9:  Bridge Girder").  Besides the makings of a small bridge, the box also contained a number of 25mm scale picks, shovels, axes, and saws which I glued into the hands of the figures after making the appropriate bends and twists to make the figures a bit more believable as workmen.

I now have the unit in two forms:  armed and ready for battle (the Frontier figures) or using their tools to build whatever the general has in mind for them (Ral Partha/Hinchliffe) and, as I finish the last installments of my Northwest Frontier project, I hope soon to set them a construction problem which will make for an interesting wargame. PS Next--the Cape Wars--and the first actions against the Boers--with figures from 1st Corps and Old Glory!

Timothy, A really great idea!  Yes, I do remember Gunga Din, that's what started me in colonial gaming.  to add to your list Eureka Miniatures has a set of Pioneers in 28mm that includes guns and shovels, very useful.  I also have a British Engineer small unit made from Ultimate Miniatures artillery crewmen.  Their arms move and they hold nothing, which is sort of a problem but then you can always glue something.  Anyway, thanks very much for the letter/ideas.

You're quite welcome for the Pioneers idea.  My presentation, in fact, was inspired by the “wonderful” (not an exaggeration!) work you've done not only in locating a heap of makers/suppliers/dealers, but in listing their addresses ‘and’ their websites.  I thought that my idea would be more useful to people if I let them know, as best I could, who the suppliers were, so that, if they wanted to do what I had done, they could see the addresses in the article and go from there.

PS: And thanks, by the way, for the tip about Eureka.   Frontier used to make, in 25mm, all sorts of stuff like a pontoon and British engineers to set it up for the Zulu War--I wonder if, somewhere, those things could still be obtained?  If anyone could find out, it would be you... 

I would use the British artillerymen from Ultimate Miniatures and I believe they are the 25mm. Unfortunately, I just learned that Ultimate Miniatures has ceased production due to illness. As to the pontoon boats I believe they are available from Irregular, but I’m not really sure, I have seen them advertised for Napoleonic forces, how much would they really change? I believe they are also made for the ACW. But right now I don’t know by who, I’m still looking. It might be Redoubt, but since I am not into ACW I really do not know.