Back to Barsoom: Warriors of Helium

Helium is one of the major kingdoms in Barsoom. It is ruled by the Jeddak Tardos Mors and is the residence of warlord John Carter and his wife Dejah Thoris. Helium is noted, among other things, for the excellence of its navy (the fliers of Helium are among the fastest on Barsoom).

John Carter, Tars Tarkas and Dejah Thoris.

For the Warriors of the Twin Cities of Helium, the client requested a red theme. I decided to go with a dark red, with orange highlights to better blend in with the inhospitable terrain of Barsoom.

One of the items I like about the Bronze Age miniatures is that they follow many of the illustrations in style post World War II.

Next: Zodanga. (Boo! Hiss!)

Back to Barsoom: Green Men and Characters

 

I recently did a commission for some figures for Barsoom the red planet of our Solar System. I grew up on the John Carter books by Edgar Rice Burroughs and I jumped at this commission and finished it in record time! All of the figures are from Bronze Age Miniatures except for the female; I'm not sure who makes the figure. I did two Green Martians:

I love the Bronze Age Green Martians - the variety, the options and the price at $12 US dollars. Figure stands at approximate 54mm tall.

Green Martian number 2. This photo gives a good comparison in scale to the 28mm figures. The Green Martians look exactly how I envisioned them reading the books.

Ulysses Paxton, the second Earthmen to go to Barsoom.

Llanna of Gathol. I was a little disappointed with this figure as you can see the pock marks on her right leg. Time to invest in some green stuff.

I forget the name of this character from the client, but he is from Gathol.

Next on to Helium.

The TFS Audacity

The Free Ship (TFS) Audacity under the command of Lady Helen Quartermain.

Following the destruction of the Weldon Institutes dirigible Go-Ahead by Robur the Conqueror and his airship the Albatross, the small aerial fleet of the United States engaged the Albatross near Philadelphia, PA.  Though the Albatross was defeated and severely damaged, it escaped and the ship responsible for the victory was the privateer TFS Audacity, under letters of marque, commanded by Lady Helen Quartermain.  

The Albatross.

Lady Quartermain and some of the crew of the TFS Audacity.

With the expanded rules for airships in the Second Edition of In Her Majesty's Name, I thought it was about time I finished painting my airship. It was the first MDF model I did and I learned a valuable lesson: PAINT THE PARTS BEFORE ASSEMBLY! Good lesson learned. Anyway . . . the TFS Audacity is painted and ready to fly. Rules for Lady Helen Quartermain and crew can be found in the Second Edition of In Her Majesty's Name.

"Da, she's not a pretty ship. But she'll put the fear of the Lord in the hearts of her enemies", Chief of Boat (COB) Sergey Rozhenko in discussing the TFS Audacity to some potential "clients" on behalf of Lady Quartermain.

The guns and machine guns came from Pulp Figures.

The airship kit is the Mozzy Class Airship from Crossover Miniatures. Extremely clear instructions, all of the parts fit and it was fun to put together - and I'm not good with models! It was a gift from Honorable Sons #1 through #5 and I was happy that they also purchased the very sturdy display base to go with the ship.

Taking on supplies in Chaimbellistan.

 

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

First of all, let's get all of the disclaimers out of the way:

1. I know the British Indian Army did not have shorts during the period of the Anglo-Russian War (or did they?).

2. I wanted a British unit with Wolseley helmets for The Men Who Would be Kings! Wolseley helmets are cool.

3. The Lewis machine gun is a filler for the issue I discussed earlier with Copplestone packaging in their Back of Beyond range. The Lewis will be used in other campaigns to come.

4. I'm playing with Toy Soldiers. Now that it's all cleared up, on with the show! (BWAH HAH HAH!)

One of the oldest Regiments in the British Army, it was formed as a fusilier regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, from two companies of the Tower of London guard, and was originally called the Ordnance Regiment. Most regiments were equipped with matchlock muskets at the time, but the Ordnance Regiment were armed with flintlock fusils. This was because their task was to be an escort for the artillery, for which matchlocks would have carried the risk of igniting the open-topped barrels of gunpowder.

       

For our period, the single-battalion Regiment embarked for Scutari for service in the Crimean War on 5 April, 1854 (with the Depot at Winchester), and saw action at the Battle of Alma in September 1854, the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and the Siege of Sebastopol in winter 1854. The newly re-formed 2nd Battalion, which had been at Preston, embarked for Gibraltar on 27 May, 1858; but we are only going to concern ourselves with the 1st Battalion. 

Cap badge of the Royal Fusiliers

In 1865 it was at Ferozepore. It returned to Britain from India on the 27 December, 1870. It embarked for Gibraltar in 1885, and in 1886 and 1887 was at Egypt. From 1888 'til 1901, it was posted to various locations in India, including Poona, Karachi (now in Pakistan), Mhow, Nusseerabad, Bombay, Quetta, Bengal, Neemuch, and Nusserabad. As one of the most experience units in the British Indian Army, it will play a key role in the Anglo-Russian War.

Needless to say, The Royal Fusiliers will be classified as Regular Infantry for The Men Who Would be Kings; and depending on the scenario, may even be classified as Elite due to their experience in India and the scenario.

Officers of the Royal Fusiliers in 1904 at Tucker's Town, Bermuda. Note the variety of headgear. You know what they say, if two regimental officers show up wearing the same uniform, one of them is out of uniform!

Major Elliott Naple-Cooper Stone. Hopefully he will roll well for his Leadership Value and Leadership Trait.

"Steady boys", exclaims Sergeant John Molyneux.

"We'll give those Russians 'What for'".

"Honi soit qui mal y pense!"

Provisional Rifle Corps: Morgan's Sharpshooters

American riflemen and Daniel Morgan; all figures by Perry Miniatures.

Perfect for Rebels and Patriots, Morgan's Riflemen or Morgan's Rifles, previously Morgan's Sharpshooters, and the one named Provisional Rifle Corps, were an elite light infantry unit commanded by General Daniel Morgan in the United States Revolutionary War, which served a vital role executing his tasks because it was equipped with what was then the cutting-edge rifle instead of muskets, allowing superior accuracy at an up to ten times the distance of the typical troops of the day. 

The disadvantage of the rifle is that they were individually made by craftsman, and due to the rifling of the barrel, a bayonet could not be affixed giving a disadvantage against British troops or Loyalists armed with the bayonet. Most riflemen carried tomahawks and hunting knives for use in close combat ambush opportunities.

Daniel Morgan got his start in the Revolutionary War in 1776 as the Captain of a small rifle unit set up by the state of Virginia, one of 10 such units commissioned by Congress. Morgan's had 69 men, and quickly got the nickname Morgan's Sharpshooters. Morgan's most significant action in this period was support for the invasion of Canada, and the Battle of Quebec in which he was seen as a hero, despite General Benedict Arnold's overall failure and their subsequent capture. The novel Arundel, by Pulitzer Prize winner Kenneth Roberts does an excellent job of detailing the hardships of the Quebec campaign.

In early 1777, when Morgan was freed from captivity, he was commissioned as a Colonel and assigned command of the 11th Virginia Regiment, and a few months later was also instructed by George Washington to form a Provisional Rifle Corps, men skilled with the use of the long rifle, from his and other nearby regiments.

Having done so, his first assignment was to harass General William Howe as he retreated through New Jersey. Morgan did so by having his 500 riflemen snipe the enemy troops as they moved, using their longer range to do so from safety, an unusual tactic for that day. 

Sent to join the northern army headed by General Horatio Gates, Morgan's Riflemen helped establish better conditions for the coming Battle of Saratoga, by a series of quick attacks on their Indian allies, driving them back in order to interfere with British intelligence of the American troops' movements.

His Riflemen proved pivotal in several engagements, including driving back an advanced unit all the way to the enemy's main forces, and later helping turn the main battle by attacking from the right flank, and is credited with forcing the British retreat. In his sequel to Arundel, Kenneth Roberts chronicles the Northern Army in A Rabble in Arms.

After a series of similar successes, Morgan left active service for a year, then joined the southern army with Nathaniel Greene. There his Riflemen's string of successes were capped when they were again pivotal in a key victory, the Battle of Cowpens. 

Facing a superior British line commanded by Colonel Banastre Tarleton, they met it head-on to fire three rounds (before the marching British muskets were in range), conducting a planned withdrawal to another location and duplicating the effort, then joined the main force against the now-depleted and disheartened British lines, who quickly fell into retreat. This was seen as the worst British defeat since the battle at Saratoga, both victories credited to Morgan's Riflemen and described as key turning points in the war. 

Though classified as Continental Regulars Rebels and Patriots, their unique way of fighting, and lack of bayonets, I have decided to mount the Riflemen in the alternative basing of "3", "2", "1" which I feel gives a better esthetics to the unit on the tabletop.

Great figures from Perry Miniatures and a delight to paint and develop "vignettes" with the basing.

The complete unit of 12 which can also be broken into two 6 figure units. A very versatile unit that can also be Light Infantry and Skirmishers.