Middle East project progress

I have made some more progress on my Middle East project.
Below are the Arab LMG teams I created a few weeks ago in full color.
I am really happy with them!


The next is the third and final Turkish infantry platoon completed along with six Turkish guards mounted individually. These will be used for raiding games I am planning on running.


Last is my version of a Talbot Car used in conjunction with the Rolls Royce A/Cs.
It is a Minifi WWI generic truck. I did a head swap on the driver using a Peter Pig WWI Sun hat head.

The Talbot Cars were armed with old light field guns. The gun is a Peter Pig Screw Gun from the PITS line. The crew are EW British Minifig.

I made the gun removable by mounting it on a piece of metal basing allowing the truck to be used for other purposes. I think it turned out smashing and should be a real blast on the game table.

Next up, Arabs!

Turkish duldroms

I have been working on my Middle East project, specifically the Arabs at the moment. With the limited number of figures available I will be using 19th century Mahdist/Ansar figures which has sparked an interest in the Wars in the Sudan and other British colonial affairs. The variety of units makes it a very colorful period and looks to be a lot of fun to paint and play but what it has done is dampened my enthusiasm for my Turks. The Turks generally come in two flavors, regulars or Arab. Both wore the same uniform with the Arabs donning a keffiyeh instead of the kabalak. They did have cavalry and even a Camel Corp but generally it was foot sloggers with some HMGs and Artillery. Nothing really fancy or flashy, not that you have to have that to have good troops but it sure does help motivation when painting. You can add some German support if gaming Palestine 1918 but no one makes any 15mm figures for them. I have looked at some Peter Pig EW British to modify. They really did not have any air support so that is out. There are pictures and documents that discuss Stoss troops but that again is Palestine and there uniform is the same just with a Turkish version of the German M1916 Stahlhelm.

They fought on a number of fronts, so your opponents can be varied but Johnny Turk stays the same. I know I should just buck up and get at them since I only have one infantry platoon, one 10.5 How and some limbers and then they can hit the gaming table but it seems like taking medicine to do so. I have been reading "In the Clouds Above Baghdad" by M.C. Lt Col J. E. Tennant. It discusses the war in Mesopotamia with a focus on the air operations. It gives a variety of possible wargame scenarios but sadly nothing to increase the motivation. Hopefully when I finish some Arabs I will move to the Turks and finish them.

More Turkish delight!

Eureka Turkish Infantry, nice posses and paint up well. The only negative is the thin tip to the rifles that breaks off easily.

A trench catapult I scratch built out of balsa and card stock. Figures are Eureka. Mainly to be used in Galipoli games.

Snipers - Minifig figures.

I redid my Turkish officers Serpuş. After reading this article, http://www.turkeyswar.com/army/ranksuniforms.htm

,I repainted them all grey with a red top.

I have one more infantry platoon, artillery limbers and another 10.5 How to paint up and I will be done. I have pulled out my Arabs and ALH and started preping them for paint.

Progress on the Middle East project - Turks

I just finsihed my Arab Turks platoon which will also be my Arab Turkish cavalry dismounted. The only Arab Turk infantry figures I can find are made by QRF. They are a bit crude but actually paint up okay and will do the job. I need to finish two more regular infantry platoons, two snipers and a trench catapult. I have decided to do a some Galipolli as I build up myMiddle East armies.

Turkish Artillery, I need to get one more Peter Pig German 105 How and some BF limbers to finish them.

Middle East objective - Peter Pig Camel caravan from the Colonial range.

QRF Arab Turks

Minifigs Arab Turkish cavalry - They list them as Syrian. Most of the Arabs in Turkish service were from what we would know as Syria and Iran.

Now off to paint some ALH dismounted so we can game Galipolli next.

What's on the work bench?

Just two shots of the work bench. On the left side (above) are the Turkish waiting to be worked on. It is the QRF Turkish Arab cav dismounted a Bedu camel objective and two artillery limber drivers. The limbers were take back by the Germans (more on that later).

On the right is the transport for my MW/LW Germans, the staff team, another squad of cav and a hospital tent objective. This will finish of my German artillery which I will do a post on when done and up my MW/LW cav to three squads. All in prep for MW Russian Front action. The limbers are all Minifigs but for most of the other nations I will probably go with the Battlefront generic limber as it is much cheaper and they only see the table for a few turns if at all. The Staff team wagon is Battlefront and the Command team mounted is just two left over cav figures. SO the whole battery can be mounted/limbered to go into action.

the Hospital tent objective is a JR miniature Medieval tent with the ruffled sides filled in some with wood glue and a Peter Pig stretcher team. Pretty simple but I think it will look okay.

Yes, that is a British Cav command stand hiding behind the tent. They are actually the artillery mounted command stand. I plan on doing the British Artillery limbers next, after I finish another platoon of Turks.