Afghan Tribal Force Update #5: Time for Up Close and Personal Fighters

 

Time to gather the clan.

For my core Afghan Tribal force I am building 2 units of Tribal Infantry and 3 units of Irregular Infantry.  I like the alternative basing method of 3, 2, 1 for The Men Who Would be Kings (Paid Link), which allows me to create mini vignettes with the basing, and I organize my figures that way when I paint.

For my core force (so far!) I'm using the hard plastic Afghan Tribal Infantry (Paid Link) from Perry Miniatures which can be assembled in a gazillion ways. The above leader, and I always base the leaders this way, will be based as a single figure. 

I got the idea for my leader from the above illustration from the late 1890's.

For The Men Who Would be Kings (Paid Link) the recommended size for a unit of Tribal Infantry is 16 figures. This is the force, though it has some fire power, whose main job is to get up close and personal with the enemy and make the British Indian Army (plus my Imperial Russians) wet their pants. I have finished the first 12 of 16 figures for my first unit. By request I'm painting the last 4 as an assembly and painting guide for Pashtun Tribal forces.

I had a lot of fun with the above figure. It gives you an idea  how you can let your imagination run wild with the Perry Miniatures hard plastic Afghan Tribal Infantry (Paid Link) since the box comes with a multiple of extra arms, heads, weapons, etc. to create unique forces for your army.

I just like the animation and look of this figure and copied it from an assembly example that was in the pamphlet that came with the box. The figure is typical of the "rank and file" of Pashtun tribal warriors that fought the British Indian Army from circa 1840 to 1920.

Here are the 3 figured based units. My unit will have 3 bases of 3 figures, 1 base of 2 figures and 5 figures mounted on single bases.

Afridi flags captured by the 36th Sikhs in 1898.

Time to close with the British Indian Army when it tries to disengage!