Rorke’s Drift Part 13 – Zulu batch painting

With over 260 Zulu warriors to paint I needed a plan of attack. Horns of the buffalo maybe? Hmmm, not quite.

1. Batch painting. 

I’ve worked out a simple formula for skin tone and some basic colours for clothing, shields, weapons and headwear. 

Having a slight, no matter how slight it is, variation between each model was good to keep me focussed. 

Things to note: Make sure I know if it’s an unmarried group of ten or a married group. Shield colour is paramount here. Basically impis (Zulu Regiments) were broken up into battalions of married warriors and unmarried warriors. 

Zulu warriors were not allowed to marry until they had “washed their spears” in the blood of an enemy. This meant they had something to prove which tended to make them more aggressive and hot blooded than the married regiments composed of older men. In the case of the battle of Isandlwana for instance the horns of the buffalo, which would spread out on the right and left flanks of the enemy, were made up of fast moving and eager unmarried warriors. The married men were seen to be wiser and more careful in their approach to battle. (I’d say in my own case, as a married man, I am neither wise or careful in my decision making haha). 

1. Paint ten and then break 

The plan is to paint in batches of ten Zulus at a time. These are then mounted on 25mm bases which can be then slotted into (Mdf) movement trays.

After I’ve painted ten Zulus I’ll take a break and paint a couple of redcoats. I’m doing this as I’m hoping to break up the monotony. Hopefully this approach will keep me motivated and keep me focused. Just a reminder there’s 260 plus Zulus to paint and 150 Brits and Natal Natives.

Here’s the first ten “married” painted, but not yet based, Zulus. Im waiting on a delivery of bases and trays. 

As you can see the colour scheme is fairly straightforward. This is both historically accurate and a welcomed relief because painting a myriad of different colours for each and every model would be a bloody nightmare. 

My pal Keith will be coming over next week to give me a hand with painting some Zulus. Might try and get 20 done. (10 for him and 10 for me). He’s a fan of the movie Zulu and he used to paint Warhammer miniatures over a decade ago. I’ll sort the skin tone out and will just need him to paint headwear, weapons, shields and clothing. Fingers crossed he hasn’t lost his skills haha. I might even try and rope Big Waz into some painting too hehe. If you’re reading mate don’t avoid my texts and phone calls haha. 

Cheers

IRO