The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 12: First Imperial Chinese Infantry Unit

Figures from Wargames Foundry.

HUZZAH! I have finished my first Infantry Unit for The Men Who Would be Kings (TMWWBK). As previously mentioned I'm basing my Imperial Chinese Field Force on the Imperial forces that faced the Second Relief Expedition led by General Sir Alfred Gaselee, GCB, GCIE.

Imperial Army lieuntenant with the Qing Dynasty Banner. Banner can be purchased from North Star Military Figures.

The recommend size for Regular and Irregular Infantry units in TMWWBK is 12 figures. I decided that the first unit would look more "traditional" with primarily the classic Manchu hat and uniforms.

Another banner bearer, the commanding officer and a drummer (duh!).

Uniforms are a bit more fancier than what I am used to painting and take more time - but it is well worth the effort.

They are ready to repel enemies internal and external.

 

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 11: Deciding on Uniform Colors for The Resolute Army

Figures from Wargames Foundry.

 In my post when I outlined my "generic" Imperial Chinese Army for The Men Who Would be Kings, I outlined that I was going to use as my template Chinese Imperial forces that faced the Second Relief Expedition under General Sir Alfred Gaselee, GCB, GCIE. For purposes of my organization of units, I'm referring to my first 2 Infantry units and my artillery gun as belonging to the Resolute Army. An Army in the Chinese Imperial Army at this time could be anything from a regiment sized force up to a Brigade/Division. As is my usual practice when painting units or armies I am not familiar, I decided to do a few test figures to figure out how I wanted the units to look.

First up will be the commander of an Infantry unit that will have more of a traditional Chinese look instead of the more Westernized units. The figure is from Wargames Foundry and is from one of the command packs from their Taiping Rebellion in China 1851-66 range. Most of the range is suitable for the Boxer Rebellion and fits in nicely with other ranges. The above officer is from Pack CH001 Chinese Command.

Military mandarins or officers wore a silk jacket in in various colors and senior officers wore predominantly purple. In addition on the front and sometimes the back, highly decorative embroidered cloth panels would be part of the jacket. In this scale, all you are getting from me is some "Chinese" lettering! Headgear was a Manchu hat often replaced with a bamboo sun hat in the summer with red tassels attached at the top.

Ready to fight enemies of the Qing Dynasty - both external and internal (though I think I need to add just a little shading to the face).

The next unit.

Next up will be my first Infantry unit which will be wearing traditional Chinese "uniforms" and once again is from Wargames Foundry Pack CH004 Chinese Musketeers. Even though they are carrying matchlocks, I'm going to pretend that they have a mixture of muskets with obsolete and modern breechloaders. The unit will be based on the above print. I forgot to mention that all of the figures were painted with a combination of Vallejo and Citadel Contrast paints.

Chinese Imperial soldiers always wore brightly colored uniforms which is one of the appeals of this period. The main garment was a loose fitting tunic of silk, cotton or linen usually bordered with a contrasting color. The tunic was issued by the unit commander but anything else worn under it was usually provided by the soldier themselves. Many troops wore a sleeveless surcoat (as above). Some "elite" units were more standardized than the other units depending on the money spent by the commander. On the chest and back of the tunic was a cloth disc, usually in white or yellow, which bore characters displaying the soldier's unit and commander and sometimes even position.

Typical headgear would be a turban worn in various styles or the classic Manchu hat. The black Manchu hat with a turned up brim and red crown were made from various materials depending on rank.

Infantry unit number 2 will wear a more Western cut of uniform though it retains aspects of a  traditional Chinese look. With uniform colors you really can't go wrong; most units wore dark blue or various shades of blue. Contemporary Western observers (when I use the term "Western Observers" I am also including the Japanese), prints (both Chinese and Western) show colors of white, yellow, green, brown, red and dark red. You can't go wrong.

The above figure is Pack CH023 Ever Victorious Army Infantry. As mentioned earlier, most troops wore various types of turbans in dark blue, blue, black and red worn by regulars. Some of the Yung units (another post in of itself) wore turbans of yellow, scarlet and dark blue. My figure's uniform is a westernized cut of a double breasted silk tunic and decorative embroidered red panels.

Yep. I need to add some shading to his face too.

Since artillery crews are only 4 figures in TMWWBKs, I decided to knock out 3 figures and I'm going to add a 4th officer figure later.

This is another "Western" style looking unit in blue with red turbans and the traditional discs. Various pictures of the time show that even within the same unit, the discs may not be of a uniform design or attached in the same place. The Wargames Foundry pack is CH024 Ever Victorious Army Artillery Crew.

Don" bother looking up the Chinese characters; I made them up based on photographs and illustrations of the time and painted what I thought would look good at gaming distance.

Now it's time to get the painting assembly line going.

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 8: A Generic Imperial Chinese Field Force

 Now that I have more than a start on the 8 Nations Alliance for the Boxer Rebellion, it's time to turn my attention to the Imperial Chinese Army and the Boxers. I'm a great fan of The Men Who Would be Kings which is my kind of Colonial Colonial Gaming. In researching my army, I'm also going to give a nod to making the Field Force as colorful and with as many flags as possible. My army will be semi-historical with an eye to gaming and having fun.

Right now I'm focusing on forces during the Second Relief Force when the 8 Nations Alliance forces under Lt. General Sir Alfred Gaselee marched on Peking to relieve the Internation Legaitions. Once the Taku Forts were taken, the Imperial Chinese, which had forces actively fighting the Boxers, viewed the action as a declaration of war and the Boxers started to take a back seat to the Imperial Army. But hey, we are going to have lots of Boxers for the Imperial Chinese commander as cannon fodder, um, ahem, as loyal citizens helping the Qing Dynasty.

A nice photo from the National Army Museum in the UK picturing Manchu hat wearing Imperial infantry.

Imperial Chinese Infantry Unit #1 (they'll get names later) from Wargames Foundry's the Taiping Rebellion in China 1851-66 range sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry.

1. Chinese Imperial Infantry Unit.

    Irregular Infantry: 4 points.

    Poor Shots: - 1 point.

    Total: 3 points.

I've been looking at uniform references for my Manchu hat wearing infantry and I'm leaning toward painting the unit as one of the two above.

Chinese Ever Victorious Army from the Taiping Rebellion range that will be later Chinese Imperial Infantry. The figures from the range make great proxies for the Boxer Rebellion in 28mm.

2. Chinese Imperial Infantry Unit.

    Irregular Infantry: 4 points.

    Poor Shots: - 1 point.

    Total: 3 points.

I wanted one unit with Manchu hats and one with turbans. My unit with turbans will have a dark blue uniform with black turbans.

3. Chinese Imperial Infantry Unit: The Kansu Braves. How can you not have a Chinese army without the Kansu Braves!

    Irregular Infantry: 4 points.

    Poor Shots: - 1 point.

    Veteran: +1 point.

I'm going to use the Kansu Braves from Crusader Miniatures - pictures from Crusader Miniatures website.

I gave the Kansu Braves veteran status as they had pretty good staying power during the Boxer Rebellion.

4. Chinese Boxers x 2.

    Tribal Infantry: 3 points.

    Fierce: 1 point.

    Total: 4 points.

My Boxers will be hard plastics from Wargames Atlantic with a few metal figures thrown in.

Photo from the Wargames Atlantic Website.

5. Imperial Chinese Artillery.

    Well drilled: 6 points.

    Total: 6 points.

Figures again from Wargames foundry and the man in charge of the gun is going to wear his fancy armor!

Looks like some of the artillery was at least average in performance though further research is warranted. I'll probably paint them in the famous, classic uniform from the cigar box cards.

To recap my generic Imperial Chinese Field Force for The Men Who Would be Kings:

1. Chinese Imperial Infantry Unit # 1 (Irregular Infantry, Poor Shots): 3 points.

2. Chinese Imperial Infantry Unit #2 (Irregular Infantry, Poor Shots): 3 points.

3. Kansu Braves (Irregular Infantry, Poor Shots, Veterans): 4 points.

4. Boxer Unit #1 (Tribal Infantry, Fierce): 4 points.

5. Boxer Unit #2 (Tribal Infantry, Fierce): 4 points.

6. Chinese Artillery (Well Drilled): 6 points.

Total: 24 points.

72 figures and 1 gun.

    

The Colonel's Recovery Repeats: Sea Wolves!!!

Originally published on May 9, 2019. A fun army to play - especially if you are a fan of just point them in the right direction and charge! The figures are Wargames Foundry, easy to paint and taking your time to paint the shields really makes this army stand out:

This Dux Bellorum army will represent Early Era Saxons and Sea Raider Early Era Saxons.  The Warrior units are mounted on 120 mm x 60 mm stands and the Foot Skirmishers are mounted on 120 mm x 40 mm stands.

 

I haven't really decided on which stand will be the mighty Saxon war leader with his tough, but smelly companions around him.  Any of the four Noble Warrior stands, which I have identified with standards, can fulfill the role of leader.

 

I will probably do a couple more stands of foot skirmishers since the Sea Raider army can field more of these light troops.  I currently have one unit of archers and one with javelins.

Now it is time to raid the province of Britain and see if the Late Roman army has any fight left in it.

The Colonel’s Recovery Repeats: Arthur, Dux Britannia

Originally published on July 17, 2017 and one of the best armies I have painted. Figures are from Wargames Foundry and Old Glory:

 Arthur, Dux Bellorum of Britain leads the elite of Britain against the Saxon invaders.

My Romano-British army composed primarily of Wargames Foundry figures with some Old Glory miniatures is finished and battle tested.  They are mounted for Dux Bellorum on 120mm wide bases.  In Dux Bellorum game terms I organized the army as my own interpretation of King Arthur:

1 Mounted Companions: 5 points

3 Noble Riders: 15 points

2 Ordinary Shieldwall: 6 points

1 Mounted Skirmishers: 2 points

Of course I utilize the Experience Warlord and Imposing Horsemen option!

The assembled War host.

Shieldwall infantry #1.

Shield Wall infantry #2.

Arthur is the middle figure from Wargames Foundry flanked by Old Glory miniatures. Since he was also known as the "Bear" I added an extra flag to go along with the traditional Pendragon standard.

Okay . . . I'm showing off the dragon painted on the shield.

Another view of the mounted force.

One of the most useful units are my mounted skirmishers for making Saxon Warbands charge when they don't want to. I have also discovered that dismounted skirmishers with javelins are very useful.

I love the priest from Wargames Foundry.

One last look at the "overlooked" infantry of Arthur's army.