"What scale to game the Mad Mahdi ?" Topic

Ive been interested in gaming this period for the last few years, mostly because of the colorful African tribal armies involved. 28mm seems like the perfect scale to display these lovely tribesmen, particularly with the Perry's now doing them in plastic, but playing a large conflict like this in 28mm feels a bit cramped on my 8x4 table.

In 15mm however, the various Mahdi units seem to lose some of their luster in the smaller scale, plus, there are not many choices to date for the period in that scale surprisingly! (Peter Pig being one of the lovely exceptions!)

So, what scale for your Fuzzy Wuzzies?

(And as always, if you couldn't care a about the Sudan & the Mahdi, don't feel the need to chime in ;-)

peterpig.co.uk/range22.htm
link

Both, of course !

10mm. Pendraken does a nice range and of all the colonial periods, Sudan is one of a limited few with really large battles and Fuzzies would look great with units of 50+ figures.

(And as always, if you couldn't care a Bleeped text about the Sudan & the Mahdi, don't feel the need to chime in ;-)

Welcome to the Poll Suggestions board!

I like 28s, but that has to be tempered with the observation I play skirmish games (i.e., TSATF) for this period, so my 5' by 9' ping-pong table is more than enough space for it.

Overriding factor my me is the larger scale showing more detail and color, particularly with the uniformed troops. I actually think my Sudanese company or my Punjab Frontier Force units (Queens Guides and Cokes Rifles) are some of my most colorful infantry units in any period. (And, yes, I do use PFF troops in the desert or in Zulu scenarios. I'm not a purist about that.)

Rick

My collection for the Sudan is about 2000 figures (British, Egyptian, Dervish and Fuzzy Wuzzies). My Dervishes and Fuzzy Wuzzies are Essex, Old Glory 15s, Peter Pig and Two Dragon. You can see them drawn up as a large force in pictures 22-25 of my Sudan Gallery on my vanity website at warin15mm.com/The-Sudan.html

I do it in 28mm but I am also a skirmish gamer.

I did something similar to "War in 15mm" but used Lancashire's battle bags for Fuzzies instead of Two Dragons and PP.
The Essex and OG figures I used are fine but the Lancashire stuff had a bit more action to them; their camerly are also nice.

I've painted a 300+ group for a friend using OG 28mm with Perry command figures. They fill a table quickly; made me glad I'd stuck with 15mm. We use a 6' x 8' table.

28mm, Perrys, can't wait for the new plastics to finally appear.Based on warbases bases so can be used for skirmish gaming as well though. Have to say though that War in 15mm's layout is truly impressive though.

I used to play it in 15mm, but when I saw shots of Dave Love's 25mm collection in action, I sold my 15mm collection off and started resurrecting it in 25mm. There are so many beautiful figures available and the "epicness" of colonial gaming in that scale is something to behold.

- Rod

Has to be 2mm of course! :-)

link

6mm

10mm for me as well. The pendraken range is really nice. Quick to paint up (I use the dip technique) and cheap too, so building up a huge horde of Mahdists won't break the bank. Their small size also allows for lots of table space so you can get a nice vast desert for your Imperial troops to march and get massacred over.

I like 10mm because it's big enough to get the individuality of 15mm, while small enough to get the mass effect of 6mm.

Some pics of my collection: link

Perry's 28mm all the way pics here.

link

The Mad Madhi was a Somali leader the British were busy tracking down in the early 1900s. The only range I know for this period is in 28mm.

Anderson makes a compelling case for the bigger guys with those great photos.

Rick

6mm and 15mm. I tend to use 15mm for the more 'toy sldier' type gaming and 6mm for the more serious stuff.

I do have a few 28s, but they are hideously expensive and a pita to paint so they only get used for character figures in 'Science vs Pluck' type indvidual adventure/melee stuff.

"not many choices"

Aren't there? My Mahdists come from every manufacturer under the sun, or so it seems (well, alright, Essex, OG and Peter Pig, but you are hardly strapped for choice in 15mm).

6mm, although I would be tempted by Pendraken 10mm if I was starting now

The Mad Mullah was the Somali leader the British were after in the first two decades of the 20th century. A colourful event to game: there were naval landing parties, camel corp, and even Boers involved. So the short answer is: 28mm

I'd go for 15mm – the right balance between visual appeal and playable games on a 6' x 4' table. Most of my Ansar/Fuzzies are a mix of Peter Pig & Two Dragons (now available again from Dixons). Old Glory are also nice but too large to be included in the same units.

Peter Pig for most of the British/Egyptians if you play early period, supplemented by some Minifigs (Egyptian cavalry, some artillery) Two Dragons for the later campaigns. Just nag Martin at PP to do some mounted Bashi-Bazouks.

I do the Sudan with 15mm. Lots of figure choices, good on space and still large enough to tell who is who. However, for size and mass 6mm is hard to beat.
The prettiest is 28mm but space is dear to the gamer who likes the big battalions. A tough choice, you have my sympathy. Good luck.

Yes, the "few" choices wording was a poor choice in hindsight. I should have stated that I have a "poor knowledge" of available 15mm choices.

Thanks for the sympathy Beef!

@Anderson Collection, a beautiful collection Sir!

@War In 15MM, that is an inspiring collection as well (and dont think I didnt see the Samurai too!). If I can ask you War In 15MM since you own then all in 15mm, whom do you prefer between "Essex, Old Glory 15s, Peter Pig and Two Dragon" ?

Thanks all for the detailed input so far!

Of all the 15s I prefer Essex by far, they are so slim and elegant. The BF style chunk monsters are OG. PP and 2D are fine and mix OK with the others.

My mass of Mahdists are generally OG just because they are so cheap (relatively). Once the Lee Metfords get going they aren't around long enough for anyone to examine their hulk like proportions.

For some odd reason (an eBay purchase perhaps) most of my British infantry are Two Dragons, and they are quite nice figures. The Egyptians are mixture of PP and Essex.

Not to hijack the thread but as an aside….

Most of my 15mm Mahdists are minifigs which are pretty awful by today's standards. Only recently have the british forces come on the scene. 2 dragons and essex. Both have wonderful levels of detail but the essex are gems. The 2d stuff is anatomically chunky like GW 28's. Both lines paint up easily.
Stone mountain comes off as interesting but puny and irregular's seem to miss the mark unless you are going for pack animals.
In any case, the choice between the big 3 scales (28,15,6) are pretty good. High quality coupled with a diversity of things to choose from.
The best way to look at it is as an ongoing project where you don't get everything you need in one fell swoop. For me, it's been an on-again, off-again thing for 20 years. While the figure count remains low, the satisfaction count soars.

Do you want more tabletop space for your Colonial games?

Some situations might allow for a little longer table.
Push one table end to the wall to gain extra taletop space. Buy a fold-down table or build onto the one you have. This could be a temporary or permanent arrangement.

Being unable to walk around the closed side might not be a disadvantage for some. It's not for our group. Our table was lengthened by 30". Not bad.

Respectfully,
Bill

If I were going to play big battles, I would use 6mm.
If I were going to play skirmishes, I would use 28mm.

25/28mm mostly Perry but some older stuff – Connoisseur and Redoubt (so add 30mm I suppose but in a mass of Mahdists bigger figures just add to the irregular look). My Naval landing party is Copplestone with a rocket battery by Black Tree. I got a load of Essex cheap but some are so dreadful I can't bring myself to paint them. All the Mahdists are based singly and put on movement trays if necessary. The casualties are laid on their sides – very Old School I suppose.

We sometimes use rolling terrain. For example in a situation where one force is trying to get across the table, at a certain point all the terrain pieces are moved. Science Versus Pluck uses a variable bound so it is easy to substitute time for space – if you see what I mean

20mm – and plastic.

Victorian Colonial Era always to done in 25/28mm. Next topic.