ZULU! The Store House...Rorke's Drift...January 1879

[spanner570]

O.k. I'm chomping at a mince pie, swigging some IPA and having a play.....I though I'd post summat in case anyone thought I'd given up on this - Been close a couple of times mind!

I'm trying to depict the last stage of the battle when the British were forced to abandon the kraal after the hospital had been over-run, and the soldiers had to retreat behind the biscuit boxes. You will notice the 'Last Stand' Redoubt is not built yet. I will add this later. I need some more boxes, plus loads of Mealie bags for the redoubt, and where the first line of bags has been flattened by the Zulus after the soldiers retreated behind the boxes.

Still loads to do, including a bit more detail work on the uniforms, the redoubt, the general wreckage lying about.....and then the Zulu Impi!

This shows the full compliment of soldiers forced into the last bit of the defences and still holding on to the kraal proir to the abandoning of it...130 odd figures.

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All too squeeky clean...for now!

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140 Zulus!

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Thanks for looking and a Merry Christmas to you.

Ron

 

[Alan 45]

Ron you never cease to amaze me that is one fantastic scene you've produced

 

[spanner570]

Ron you never cease to amaze me that is one fantastic scene you've produced

Thanks Alan, they are only roughly placed to get some sort of 'Feel' for the set up, then I've got to remove them again to cut the bases off...Is there no end to this torture?

 

[Alan 45]

Thanks Alan, they are only roughly placed to get some sort of 'Feel' for the set up, then I've got to remove them again to cut the bases off...Is there no end to this torchure?

If there's one thing I hate it's 1/72 scale figures :D , so fiddley and awkward

 

[monica]

stunning work Ron,looks great with all the figures done,

If there's one thing I hate it's 1/72 scale figures :D , so fiddley and awkward

and could not agree more with Alan,your a star for doing so very very many of the little guys

 

[treyzx10r]

Ron my eyes ache just thinking about painting all those tiny figures! The scene is looking awesome,tipping a Dogfish IPA to ya Sir merry Christmas

 

[spanner570]

Ron my eyes ache just thinking about painting all those tiny figures! The scene is looking awesome,tipping a Dogfish IPA to ya Sir merry Christmas

Cheers Trey, Merry Christmas to you too, good buddy!

 

[spanner570]

I've been quietly tootling along with this and here's the up to the minute stage of the build.....

What to make the mealie bags out of has been on my mind? I finally came up with this.....Linseed oil putty - the stuff you put glass in with.

I have a small tub in the shed, so with a bit of linseed oil added to the semi hard stuff in the bottom of the tub, I managed to make it soft enough to use.

I rolled out the putty to the right diameter sausage, then cut the individual bags and piled them up and let their own weight form the droops and sags. Once they semi-harden, I will do a bit of tidying up. Then paint them.

Regarding the redoubt Lt. Chard had built for a 'last stand'. I've had a look at models of this and to my eye most look far too formal, all nice and neat and square ( one even has duck boards inside!) Same with the perimeter mealie bag wall and biscuit box wall - all too straight.

My reason for making my walls look like they've been built in a rush is because that is what actually happened. The British had around 4 hours or so to build the defences, so the last thing on my mind would be neatness!!

So below is my take on the last ditch defences......

The pictures are a bit blurred..sorry.

Here is the Redoubt. It rests on greaseproof paper. I had thought to harden the putty in the microwave - hence the paper, but thought better of it! I will leave the redoubt on it and cover it with dirt later.

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The wall connecting the Kraal to the stores building.

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The over-run outer wall which connected the stores and hospital.

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The biscuit box wall hastely erected after the hospital and accompanying outer wall where breached by the Zulus.

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Here is layout of the final stage of the battle. The kraal has been abandoned and the defenders will be pushed back into what little is left of the defences. You can see the smashed mealie bag walls on the right. The hospital would be top right of this picture and about 50yds. from the store building.

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Still plenty to do...loads more debris, rubble, boxes and painting..........Then the Zulus!!!

Cheers all,

Ron

 

[dubster72]

Looks great Ron! And a nice idea for the sandbags although they're making me think of Ravioli! Can you tell I'm a mite peckish?

 

[spanner570]

Looks great Ron! And a nice idea for the sandbags although they're making me think of Ravioli! Can you tell I'm a mite peckish?

Sandbags...Sandbags!!!!

My dear chap, they are mealie bags - big and heavy!

Thanks for the encouraging post too Patrick.....

 

[Tibbs]

This is my first look on this build, and it looks top notch so far, and those sandb... :pI mean mealie bags look the part.

 

[dubster72]

Ha-ha! I think I was blinded by hunger Ron! I should have been more accurate

as I watched Zulu! for the umpteenth time only yesterday

 

[monica]

looks great Ron,and what a very good idea as well,

 

[john i am]

Great mealie bags Ron and I love the smell of linseed oil putty I used to be a glazier many years ago I still have all the scars to prove it I was on 1st name terms at the local A+E .Your dio is looking amazing and you have my upmost respect for all the hardwork you are putting into it keep up the great work mate

 

[spanner570]

Great mealie bags Ron and I love the smell of linseed oil putty I used to be a glazier many years ago I still have all the scars to prove it I was on 1st name terms at the local A+E .Your dio is looking amazing and you have my upmost respect for all the hardwork you are putting into it keep up the great work mate

John, having spent my working life as a joiner, I too have had my fair share of 'glass confrontation' You are right, linseed oil putty does smell nice.

With most glazing being of the double variety these days, using putty again - albeit for modelling - is quite a novelty.......

 

[noble]

Beautiful work Ron you'painted th 24th of foot really well, look forward to seeing the zulus completed.

scott

 

[Deleted member 3568]

Ron you need to quit this you will be blind by the time it's finished, or maybe change it to 1/35 or even better 1/12. I take my hat off to you, I would not even think of doing such an epic build.

 

[spanner570]

After Patrick's post about being hungry when he saw my 'Ravioli', I had a second look at the mealie bags and realised he had a point. They were slightly too big. I re-modelled them to make them smaller and they look tons better....Thanks Patrick.

The putty has hardened sufficiently for some paint to be applied to the bags. As the area was capable of supporting greenery, and not sun baked, I've added some scrub...Might add a bit more later.

Here are a few shots of the Zulu's view of things.

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A general view of the last stand area after the Krall had been abandoned.....I made a big mistake at the start in thinking the biscuit box wall connected both the store building and the kraal...Wrong! It was erected just from the stores to the outer perimeter mealie bag wall. This left me with a few boxes left over, hence them being stuck amongst the mealie bags!

I gave the bags a rough wash of paint then altered the shade a bit to give some variation the the bag colours.

The grease proof paper under the redoubt has also had a covering of dirt. I'm not bothered about the different shade as I reckon it would have been scuffed with boots when the structure was being built.....

So here is the major alteration finished.

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A top view.

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All still squeaky clean, so I need to add plenty of smashed bits and pieces and muck the area up a bit. But the basic lay-out is pretty much finally finished.

I hope you approve of the model thus far, and thanks for looking in.

Cheers,

Ron

 

[Gern]

I'm not sure why you spent so much time getting such a superb finish on the groundworks Ron. By the time you've added the 4000 Zulus, you won't be able to see it!

 

[spanner570]

Good point.

But, my dear chap, if you think for one minute I'm going to spend around £800 on some po*y plastic figures...forget it! I might push the total to 200 or so, but that's it.

For the sake of my sanity - and eyesight, let's just say the remaining Zulus will be 'Off picture'.

How's that for a compromise?