Guernsey Foundry
28mm "Darkest Africa" figures

Review

Reviewed by David Barnes

These packs will be released between May and October in an unspecified order. 6 packs a month.

Mark Copplestone is really deeply enthusiastic about Africa and is doing a one-man recreation of Colonial African history and its western explorers, British, Belgian and Germans. Also, slavers, Zanzibar's or Arabs.

After this release a second will be the Belgian Force Republique, German Colonial troops and Zande and Masai tribesmen. Later releases will be French in Western Sudan and Dahomey, The Ashanti Wars, British and Egyptian in Sudan and WW1 in Africa.

DA1 Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, John Manning Speke, Dr Livingstone, The Lord of the Jungle (a.k.a. Lord Greystoke), Carl Peters, Sir Samuel Baker and Henry Morton Stanley. J.M. Speke in shooters vest, looks like him – He accidentally (?) shot himself, out after game birds, having just heard some other explorer had just found the source of the Nile. Sir R.F. Burton was a fearless explorer who learnt many languages and went about in disguise visiting Mecca etc. The metal version is firing a dragoon colt. The Lord of the Jungle can be taken either as the earliest film character portrayal of Tarzan or the newest. Not Johnny Weismόller. Can be used as the leader of the Africans versus the 'orrible Colonials if you like. No Cheetah the chimpanzee yet (the best actor I thought).

DA5 Loyal Askaris one. All these gentlemen wear a kilt except one who has a loincloth. They all have different faces, some have little pillbox hats – two have Ashanti-style turbans. Their muskets are held across the chest, ready for action. One has an animal skin across his shoulder, one has big plug earrings, another tribal scars on his cheeks. One has a sheathed knife at his belt. All have shot pouches or gourds. A handy lot to protect:

DA9 Porters one. All have a variety of locked boxes, suitcases and bundles on their heads. Two have loincloths and the rest kilts. One has a turban-type cloth on his head. He carries a wooden box. Vital to your expedition – you go nowhere without them. Guard them well.

DA7 Askaris Firing. All "in the aim". As an ex musketry instructor I can see they are all getting very bad habits. Not one has the butt in his shoulder – however, as all the shoulders are naked it's understandable – particularly with the kick of black powder! All wear kilts. Three wear pill box hats – one a natty woven one. Two have bare heads. Three have Ashanti style turbans. (c.f. Ted Herbert's Colonial Handbook produced for the Victorian Military Society). Two are firing percussion cap muskets, the rest are English style flintlocks.

DA30 Ferocious Tribal Spearmen. (Provide your own plastic, brass rod, piano wire – toothpick spears – or florist wire say Foundry) Loinclothed all. Four spears poised for a cast, four spears lowline for a stab. Five are shouting, one snarling, two saving their breath (probably the most dangerous). The left hand is up in all cases to take a shield – a pack of these is included in the samples, randomly assorted. A Gothic windows shape – like an ancient Egyptian one, without the hole. A rectangular wickerwork one, four wickerwork rounded rectangles with slight central bosses and two wooden rectangulars rather like medieval mantlets. Give your leader a unique shield!

Lastly: DA34 Stealthy Tribal Archers 1. (On the pack, "Bowmen"). Four of them are drawing the bow, four of them are loosing arrows. All have arrows in quivers cast to their bases, to cut off and place in the hole provided for the lug in the back of the character. They are all characters with different head angles and expressions – all different heads. Excellent. Flash is negligible – the odd air gate still on. After a few drawings I'm off into the garden for twigs and moss that's been blown off – or one could use various jungly trees provided by the trade.

The Explorers pack can take it in turn to be boss – except "Swampy" – I mean Tarzan! [For US readers "Swampy" is a defender of woodlands against would-be road builders in Britain]

More Reviews

Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #127
Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 1999 by Solo Wargamers Association.
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