The Big Push 9. Objective Achieved.

Finished! A week to spare before the demo game at Newbury. So.... what do we have? A unit of Sharifian Regulars supported by an Irregular Arab lewis gun team (all from Brigade Games). A number of odds and sods that may be utilised as dismounted armoured car or Light Patrol car crews. These may or may not be used so I didn't spend a lot of time on these and got them done pretty quickly not really worrying about the end result as they may never make it onto the table. The exception is the Lewis team which form the first two figures of a unit of Queen's Westminster Rifles that I need to do eventually (hence they sport unit patches). Finally a small number of "Supression Markers" that are needed for the Setting The East Ablaze ruleset. These are GWM casualty figures. Done!

The one thing I have gained from this speed painting excercise over the past five or six weeks is some experience using the base coat-wash-hightlight technique. I dabbled with this about a year ago as I searched for a way to speed up painting for my own tabletop collection given that most of my time is taken up painting up commissions "properly". I am quite pleased with some of the results given the time constraints. I am less pleased with others. I have learned quite a bit using this technique. Bring on the game itself. If you are at Newbury, please pop by and say "Hello". Just look for the game being put on by "Adrian Shepherd and Friends". I wonder if Adrian has finished the Crusader Castle......?

Sharifian Regulars and Irregular Arab Lewis Team.

Odds and Sods from Empress Miniatures, 

Woodbine Designs, Great War Miniatures and Footsore Miniatures.

Great War Miniatures "Suppression Markers".

Mules and other things.

The Brigade Games WW1 British 2.75 inch Mountain Gun in transit.

These chaps are the WW1 Turkish cavalry produced by Forgotton Front Miniatures (found on the Miniature Figurines website). They are meant to be Lancers wearing arabic head dress, but here the right arms have been bent in and/or down and they will represent Ottoman "Dragoons". These are a bit of a "speed paint"as time is short and I need to wrap up the Mesopotamian painting so I can complete some early war German Infantry before the summer ends.

The horses for these chaps are being painted elsewhere.

Artizan Designs WW1 Arab Irregulars 4.

The Sons of the Desert are complete.

Artizan Designs WW1 Arab Irregulars 3

Two more figures. The remaining six figures are duplicates of the figures carrying rifles seen in this and the previous post on this topic. Only the colour schemes will vary so one post left to come on this project and that will be when all ten are complete. It will be a while as painting on this unit is slow at the moment thanks to current work commitments and related energy levels at the end of the day.... that and being distracted by guns, limbers and teams.....

Artizan Designs WW1 Arab Irregulars 2.

I've done another one! This is one of the two camel mounted variants in pack ARB021. I'll do the other chap, post him and then give a final posting when all ten figures are complete.

Artizan Designs WW1 Arab Irregulars 1.

Real "Sons of the Desert"! The obsession with camels reaches new heights.
Another nine will follow in due course. 

Okay, okay... my arabic calligraphy is not that good. This banner contains the Shahada, the Islamic proclamation of faith. The calligraphy was found on the interweb, copied, recoloured, shrunk to size, printed out and then overpainted by hand.
God is Greatest!

WW1 Ottoman Arab Camel Mounted Troops 2. The Completed Unit.

Coming soon to a Suez Canal, 1915, demonstration game in York.

Perry Miniatures Sudan Camel Corps figures with Woodbine heads and added Greenstuff.

What next, I have been asked... well a bit of a break as I have been painting flat out for a few weeks, but here's a clue.

WW1 Ottoman Arab Camel Mounted Troops 1. The test piece.

More fun with camels! A Perry Miniatures Sudan British Camel Corps bugler chopped about a bit, given a Woodbine bare head and some greenstuff to create an Ottoman Arab Camel mounted trooper fit for crossing Sinai to raid the Suez Canal.

There may well be more before too long.