Saturday, November 16, 2024

The Sun Never Sets - Boers and Burmese

 I finally got some Boers painted. The problem with painting Boers is that you have to paint two, twenty man units to make a single unit. I've finished three such units mounted and dismounted with twenty horses.





Boer Commando - Here are the Boers, mounted and dismounted. The horses with empty saddles are the same as those with riders.




Ras Gun - During the First Boer War, the Boers made two cannon, built by  Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, in 1880. The gun model is of "Martienie", the first gun built by Ras (and also the only one to fire shots in anger). It has a 3" bore and fired a 7 pound lead shot. It was used against the British at Rustenburg.


 
Burmese War Elephants - These war elephants have a crew of two in the howdah plus the mahout. They are armed with a lantaka or swivel gun. The elephants are cast in 3 pieces, 2 halves  of the body and the head. The howdah is a 3D printed scaled wicker basket model.



This is the Burmese artillery. Like two of the lantakas pictured above, this cannon has a decorative barrel, based on a fish.



Daquoits - These are Burmese irregular infantry. The British referred to them as daquoits, a term that translates to "bandit". These men all carry swords and spears, but they could also carry firearms.



Regular Infantry - These guys have spiffy uniforms and carry rifles.



Regular Cavalry - The cavalry are armed with the Dha, a type of short sword, and ride "Bama Myinn", a breed of Burmese horse.