Back to the German-Herero War Painting Table: What's on Deck in 28mm?

The last four months spend researching and developing a skirmish scenario based on the historical battle of Uitkomst have been an exciting and rewarding interlude for me, as I hope they have been for those of you who have been following along with the 12 part series that resulted from that effort.  Although I am considering tackling a second battle scenario from this period, I don't have the bandwidth to take on that project right away: certainly not while also addressing the huge backlog of figures that await my paints and brushes.

It won't surprise readers of this blog that I now possess a large number of Boer figures in 28mm scale, mounted and on foot, that I should start painting in earnest so I can begin play testing the Uitkomst skirmish.  They are a selection of mounted (Black Tree Designs, Foundry and Redoubt) and dismounted Boers (all of the above, plus North Star Africa and Empress).  The Black Tree horsemen are just slightly larger than Foundry's but usable together.  Redoubt's are both stylistically different and as a rule slightly too small for use with Black Tree.  For Uitkomst I'll be using five of Black Tree's and three of Foundry's mounted Boers, and a probably will favor North Star and Empress for the foot figures.  Redoubt's Boer horse holder is not ideal, with extremely long legs and a rough and ready sculpt, but I have not yet found a good alternative.

I've got 12 Mounted Hereros to paint (Empress Natal Native Horse with the spears removed from their quivers), and a really neat idea for one of the Herero's most effective war leaders - Assa Riarua.  Then there are the German civilians who fought at Uitkomst (represented thus far by figures from North Star, Foundry and Redoubt), and a growing number of vehicles with draft animals, drivers and figures representing native handlers (Treiber) that are needed for scenarios such as Groß-Barmen in the Jones/Alvarado Herero War Scenario and Rules Book

I may start, however, with a scenic vignette, featuring an ubiquitous sight characteristic of the terrain in central and eastern Hereroland, along with one of its associated denizens.  It provides a welcome contrast to an otherwise flat and mundane landscape of thorn and savannah, not to mention a bit of cover.  Your guesses are welcome in the comments, but you will need to wait for the big reveal...

First Batch of Painted and Based Herero Figures

Mix of figures from Perry, Black Tree, Foundry. North Star, Askari and Empress

This is my first effort at painting up the very large number of figures from numerous manufacturers that I have pulled together for this project.  I'm still getting a feel for both painting and basing, and this includes everything from how to get the eyes right to finding the right mix of colors.  I decided to start with the Hereros, and these are the result.

I decided to paint up examples of each of the figures I am using to represent the Herero during the German-Herero War of 1904.  They range from Empress and Askari, which are closer to 25mm, all the way up to Tiger which approaches 30mm. I am using Vallejo paint and have given them simple bases.  One or two of them were actually cast as boers but make excellent Hereros in European clothing.  I'll describe the process further in subsequent posts, but for now, here they are to enjoy.

Black Tree (from a boer set)

Perry Mafeking and Askari Herero

Tiger, North Star, Brigade Games, Foundry, Black Tree, Redoubt

Tiger, Redoubt, Foundry (some of the largest figures)

North Star Africa! range  Matabele rebels make great Herero!

Brigade Games, Black Tree and Foundry.  The rider and kneeling figure are boer sculpts.

Filling out the Orbat for Jones/Alvaredo Herero War Scenarios

Since Dr. Roy Jones posted the Order of Battle for the upcoming Herero War scenario and rulebook, I've been sizing up my lead pile and examining were I am in good shape, and where I lack enough figures, or even suitable options to represent them, to complete the German and Herero forces.  Since posting what I had gathered so far for German Troops and their Allies and their Herero adversaries, I've added some additional figures and equipment, including some from new sources.  Nevertheless, the fact remains that I have serious gaps to fill in a number of areas if I want to do every scenario in the book with 25mm / 28mm figures that can represent this period authentically and do it with a minimum of duplication.

Mounted Officers:  Jones and Alvaredo call for mounted figures to represent three senior German commanders and two senior Herero commanders.  There is very little in the currently available lines of known manufacturers to meet these specifications. The Honourable Lead Boilersuit Company once produced mounted officers for this period but this line has been discontinued. Matchlock Miniatures, which seems to include some of the Falcon Line, makes a mounted officer and it arrived today but regrettably wearing a helmet so perhaps I will need to find him a different head.  As for Falcon, I fear that this company may no longer be active, as its website is static and unresponsive and its email is out of service.  Perhaps someone who knows the owner can shed further light on the matter.  That would be a shame, because it seems that Falcon had German Mounted Command figures in its 25mm German Southwest Africa line that would do nicely. 

Quite frankly, I would be willing to settle for mounted officers in slouch hats cocked on the right, or even WWI German officers on horseback wearing field caps.  I bit the bullet and spent $25 on the Great Powers High Command set in 25mm from Old Glory's Colonial Boxer Rebellion  range.  It features six officer figures on horseback, the last of which wears a German Southwester hat.  I may be able to paint or convert one or two of the others, but for now can only count on this one, leaving me one more to locate to complete my needs.

Redoubt Enterprises BWBC01

As for the Herero leader a beardless Boer may be the answer (and with all due respect to my progressive minded Afrikaner friends, I appreciate the irony of making an indigenous African out of a Boer).   For this figure I could use any from the three figure mounted boer set from Black Tree Design's Boer War range, but I really like the mounted boer officer waving forward from Redoubt, who is painted in such a way on the website that he even looks African.  I will probably get several mounted boer figures without beards from both of these companies, and will use the rest as Herero cavalry: (see below).  Another option would be to convert the wonderful mounted figure of King Lubengula offered by North Star Africa and adding a wide brimmed hat with epoxy.

Empress Miniatures ZWB43

Herero Cavalry:  I need three full sections (24 figures) of Herero horsemen. Unlike some of the figures on foot who can be wearing loincloths or partial European clothing, mounted African figures for this period should not be wearing traditional regalia.  This rules out mounted Zulu or Matabele figures from other ranges.  I have one mounted Edendale Native horseman from Redoubt's Zulu range, three Native Horse from Foundry's Zulu range and four Native Horse from Empress' Miniatures Anglo Zulu War figures.  These last required removal of the spears in their shoulder quivers but are otherwise excellent and I plan to add another 4 from this range.  Still, that would only give me half the horsemen I require, so the rest are likely to be beardless Boers as mentioned above.

Seebataillon gunners:  I believe that the Maschinenkanone called for in the Scenario book was served by German marines.  There were also marine machine gunners during the war, but I am told they are not included in the Scenario book for playability reasons.  The latter can be purchased from Pulp Miniatures, but while there are a number of great options for the Krupp "Pom-Pom gun (37mm Maschinenkanone M97) in this scale, there are no German marines scultpted specifically to serve it.  Possibly one or two of the Pulp Figures from the Maxim gun set could do so, but this will require further investigation.

Landungskorps Revolverkanone gunners:  I have the cone mounted Hotchkiss gun from HLBS now to represent the ones removed from the SMS "Habitcht" for service with the naval landing party.  As I have purchased more Naval machine gun sets than I require from Brigade Games (German) and Redoubt (Austrian), I should be able to borrow from these to serve the revolverkanone.

More Schutztruppe in slouch hats:  With Askari, Pulp and Tiger the main options for Schutztruppe that are suitable for this period, and a sprinkling of Brigade Games figures wearing puttees that are not issued in SWA, I am still in need of more Schutztruppe officers and men to complete the foot commanders and eight infantry sections I require.  I will certainly need to duplicate sets, and these are likely to be Askaris or Pulp, but whenever I find another option I jump on it. 

One such surprising find is from Old Glory in its 25mm Spanish American War range.  Here you can get the Spanish "Fantasy" Pack, featuring a German Maxim machine gun crew and adviser.  Not only is the two man gun crew a decent alternative to the 2 figure machine gun sections offered by Pulp, but the remaining two figures are officer types and can be used at need to command Schutztruppe infantry.

Herero Shock Troops:  Thirty-two are needed.  Falcon once made these, I believe wearing captured Seebataillon and/or Schutztruppe uniforms.  Alternatives include Brigade Games Schutztruppe in Slouch Hats and Askari's current Herero offering.

Native Auxiliaries:  The same figures identified for Herero Shock Troops could be used for these,

Courtesy of German Colonial Uniforms Website

but would need to be painted so as to avoid confusion with Herero fighters in German uniforms and I'm not sure an imperial armband or hatband would do that clearly at this scale.  I need 24 Witboois and 16 Rehoboth Bastards in sections with one officer and seven men on foot.  

My solution for the Bastards is to convert Copplestone's Zanzibar Askaris from its Darkest Africa range by turning their fez headgear into feld hats and giving them shoes fashioned with epoxy putty.  This should make them appear very much like the 1905 historic image at right. 

As for the Witbooi contingent, I will keep them in civilian clothes with white hats and imperial armbands as well as some braided hat cords, and may well chose to use beardless civilians or Boers for this purpose. 

I could use white officers with these native troops, though they had their own Kapteins and Veldkornets as well.  Leutnant Müller von Berneck commanded the Witboois in Abteilung Müller during the Hamakari campaign, while Oberleutnant Böttlinhad the Bastards in Major von Estorff's section.  While there is no scenario that currently calls for the other group of Native troops that served with the Germans at this time - the Bethany (!Aman) contingent - these were under Lt. Thilo von Trotha at Waterberg and this officer and close relative of the commanding General was later killed during failed negotiations with his former soldiers and allies in 1905 during the Nama war.

Another Good Option for 25mm Seebataillon and Landungskorps in SWA

The Order of Battle for the war games in the upcoming Herero War scenario and reference book by Jones and Alvarado calls for a fair number of German marines and an even larger number of sailors for the Landungskorps.  I have the fine sets of the former from Copplestone and plan to add more from Pulp, but using these I will be stretched to provide the 36 figures needed to fill out 4 Marine sections (1 officer plus 7 marines in each), a senior commander, plus a 3 figure machine gun section.  It can be done in 28mm without repeat purchases, but barely.

 It is even more challenging filling out the sailors in the Landungskorps, for that will require 2 senior officers and a senior NCO (all on foot), six artillery figures with a machine gun and a revolver cannon, and 8 Landungskorps Units   (1 Officer, 7 Sailors in each).  This comes to 73 sailors and a large number of officers/NCOs, and while Brigade Games Great War in Africa series sets the standard and offers many of the figures this will require, it means purchasing multiple sets and a lot of duplication in the officer figures.  Short of some careful surgery to swap heads and arms, this does not allow for much variation in sailor sculpts.

Luckily, there is another excellent option that will add 8-10 German marine figures, two 3 figure sailor gun crews with at least one usable machine gun, and a handful of sailors for the Landungskorps.  All are in suitable uniforms, and all come in 25mm from Redoubt's Boxer Rebellion range.  They are offered as single figures or gun crew sets.  The German marines are from Seebataillon III and are fully compatible with their sister bataillons that were dispatched to Southwest Africa.  The sailors are from Germany's strong ally Austria Hungary, and work well with those from Brigade Games.  I plan to use some of them to crew my revolver cannon, probably the crew shown above with a Skoda machine gun.

Mustering the Troops: Hereros

There is a very large lead pile now at my house, and four more shipments expected soon to fill up the ranks. I discussed options for Herero figures in a previous post.  Here, then, is the current, unpainted Order of Battle for my Herero forces in either 25mm or 28mm scale:.

                                       Hereros

Askari Miniatures       – 10 Hereros skirmishing

Tiger Miniatures         – 5 Hereros skirmishing

Northstar Miniatures   – 4 Matabele warriors firing rifles
                                 - 8 Matabele Rebels firing muskets
                                 - 8 Matabele Rebels firing rifles
                                 - Native Cattle
                             
Brigade Games           – 8 Shutztruppe askaris in slouch hats

Foundry                    – 7 tribal musketmen in hats and coats
                                 - 8 African villagers

Perry (Mafeking)        - 6 Black armed civilians firing, standing and
                                     standing ready
                                 -6 Black armed civilians (mostly separate weapons)

Redoubt (in transit)      - 1 NNC Kneeling Firing Carbine In Jacket
                                  -1 Mounted Edendale Horse, NNH Contingent,
                                       Boot Holding Carbine
                                  -    Small Native Pony For NNH Figures
                                  -1 Sikali Horse Native On Foot Firing Carbine

Empress Miniatures      -2 Native Horse mounted (head variation)
(in transit)                    -2 Native Horse mounted (head variation
                                   -1 Native Horse horse holder and horses (4)
                                  - 4 Native Horse skirmishing

Total:  62 infantry, 5 mounted / 7 dismounted cavalry, 8 noncombatants, 3 cattle

Comments:  The Foundry tribal musketmen set (DA038) arrived with 7 figures instead of the listed 8.  The Empress native horse sets (ZWB 44, 45, 46 & 47) will stand in nicely either as Herero or Nama cavalry, but will need to have the spears removed from the quivers that are slung across their backs.  I gave the Foundry 3 rider Natal Native Horse set to the Germans to serve as native auxiliaries from the Witbooi Nama.  I will continue to add figures from Askari Miniatures to my Herero forces as they are produced.

I will share the German Colonial figures in my army in a subsequent post.

Options in 25mm / 28mm scale to Represent Herero Forces in 1904

The Herero forces in 1904 took the field in an assortment of European clothing and were well armed with modern weapons.  They were able to deliver a rapid rate of fire, even though at the outset about about half their fighters had rifles and the rest carried knobkerries.  Their commanders made use of mounted messengers and some of the troops were mounted, although most of the engagements were fought on foot.

Finding figures in 25mm or 28 mm scale that are appropriate to represent Herero fighters can be very challenging.  Two manufacturers offer Herero figures (Tiger and Askari), and I have ordered one set from each for my table.  Several others offer African figures in elements of European dress armed with firearms that work nicely as well, but there are very few mounted troops available and some of these will require modification to be reasonably authentic representations.

Tiger Miniatures has a Colonial German Range distributed in the United States by Richard Brooks at Recreational Conflict.  Richard is great to deal with and is aware of other manufacturers to suggest to build up both German and Herero forces for this period.  I'll discuss the German figures in a subsequent post, but as for the Hereros, there are three sets available.  I chose GC-20 Herero/Hottentot, a set of five 28mm white metal figures, because none of them would require further modification to convert those wearing an inauthentic fez to the more appropriate wide brimmed hat.  They have pangas for sidearms and their heads are a tad large, but they have character and should paint up well.

   Askari Miniatures has an expanding range of German Colonials and their Herero opponents in

Askari Hereros HE-1

Southwest Africa.  These are 28mm scale and are among the most faithfully recreated figures available for this period.  There is only one Herero set currently available and it was just released.  It consists of ten figures in five poses, all wearing wide brimmed hats and all carrying captured German weapons and accoutrements.  They are delightful figures, some of which fight barefooted, and I will eagerly acquire more of them in this range if they become available.

An intriguing option to stand in for Herero fighters is available from NorthStar Military Figures in the Africa range. Northstar has a number of four figure sets in 28mm  scale depicting Matabele warriors armed with muskets or rifles, some in European articles of dress,  representing the conflict with the British South Africa Company in the 1890s.  I chose to use both sets of Matabele Rebels (NSA 1013 and NSA1014) as well as NSA 1012 (Matebele Warriors Firing Rifles).  One of the figures wears a head ring that requires removal or modification to a brimmed hat to be accurate for the Herero, but otherwise they are well sculpted and a nice fit for Herero fighters.  The NorthStar range also offers many excellent sculpts of southern African wildlife and native cattle to dress up your table.

Even more unusual are two sets made by Perry miniatures on commission for a diorama depicting the

Perry Minatures Mafeking Range MF-5

Siege of Mafeking during the 2nd Boer War that have now been made available to the public.  These 28mm figures come in sets of six and two of them represent armed black civilians carrying or firing rifles.  Two figures in the set of walking figures are in shirtsleeves and braces and wear caps that will paint up nicely as captured Schutztruppe corduroy field caps.

Brigade Games Great War in Africa range offer 28mm figures as  BGWIAG08- Schutztruppe Askaris in Shapeless Slouch Hats who while not appropriate for use in the German forces in SWA make excellent Hereros in captured uniforms.  These 8 figures in four poses are wearing puttees rather than boots but are otherwise appropriate for Herero War use.

Foundry Miniatures Darkest Africa Range, sculpted by the Perry brothers, has only one set that will work for Hereros infantry with firearms and European clothing (eight 28mm figures DA038 - Tribal

Foundry Darkest Africa DA038

Musketmen in Hats and Coats), but I also picked up DA027 - Women and Children to represent noncombatants and a set of 3 mounted Native Horsemen in European clothing from the Foundry Zulu Wars range (DA 15/6).  These latter figures will require conversion to remove the throwing spears from the quivers they carry over their shoulders, but are among the very few options available for African horsemen in the late 19th or early 20th century who can stand in for mounted Hereros or Namas. 

Another source that I am considering using that would require the same conversion are the Native Horse figures (mounted and dismounted) offered by Empress miniatures in their Anglo-Zulu War range. Beautifully sculpted in 28mm, they include a number of troops that would be suitable without the spears over their shoulders (ZWB42-48), including a horse holder with four mounts.  I did pick up a dismounted and mounted figure and horse from Redoubt Enterprises representing the Edendale Mission troop of Native Horse from the Zulu Wars that did not have the throwing assegais in the quiver.  If these prove to be good sculpts I may order more.

With these manufactures and figures as sources, there are sufficient miniatures available to put a credible force of Herero in the field representing these fighters largely as they appeared in 1904.  I would like to see other figures offered, perhaps from Askari, that include Hereros armed with knobkerries and Nama fighters in their white cloth covered hats, as well as a few more noncombatant Herero in traditional dress.  By and large, though, with some weakness in their mounted arm, the Hereros that await my table should make an excellent showing.



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