"Chinese Artillery" Topic

Gentlemen,

I have just received my Chinese artillery for the boxer rebellion. Ca anyone tell me what color the carriages were painted??

The regular chinese or boxers had no regulation color to my knowledge ,but dark red was a very common color.(they had lot's of it )I don't know why.

Thank you. Like the rest of my Chinese troops anything will work.

Seeing more and more Boxer enthusiasts here … getting gradually sucked in. Can anyone suggest the best books and figures?

Red would work This is from the 1860's and looks great

Imperial Chinese Artillery – looks like a reddish brown

Red was a lucky colour – plus as noted they had lots of it – all my Chinese artillery carriages are bright red

On second thought dark red will be great, although I may paint the wheel spokes alternate black and red.

Another thought; Can anyone tell me where I can get a 15mm gun similar to the picture that "mapleleaf" posted.

I seem to recall yellow was also used by the Chinese, sometimes in combination with red. Much of the Imperial Army tried to emulate the Western powers so some guns would have been the same as those used by the U.S., British, etc.

As for books, I'd suggest 'The Spirit Soldiers,' by Richard O'Connor; 'The Boxer Rebellion,' by Diana Preston; 'The Siege at Peking,' by Peter Fleming; 'Military Operations in China 1900 – 1901,' by Major E.W.M. Norie; 'America in the China Relief Expedition,' by Brig.Gen. A.S. Daggett; 'The Fists of Righteous Harmony,' by Henry Keown-Boyd; 'China, 1900: The Eyewitnesses Speak,' by Frederic Sharf and Peter Harrington; 'The Boxer Uprising,' by Wheatly, Weaver, and McDowell; 'Indiscreet Letters from Peking,' under the pseudonym B.L. Putnam Weale; Osprey Campaigns #85, Peking 1900 The Boxer Rebellion,' by Peter Harrington; 'The Australian Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Boxer Uprising,' by Justin Cornfield; and 'Colonial Campaigns Boxer Rebellion, Admiral Seymor's Relief Attempt (10 wargame scenarios),' by Mark Fastoso.

As to figures, my 1,000+ 25mm figure Boxer Rebellion collection consists of Old Glory, Wargames Foundry, Pulp Figures, and a smattering from 1 or 2 other manufacturers. Richard Houston used to make some really nice Oriental artillery back in the day. Or at least I think it was Richard. I also have all of the old Old Glory Legation sets to form the backbone of my "55 Days at Peking" game. Not having a lot of scratchbuilding talent I was truly fortunate to have one of my best friends build the Tatar Wall for me, complete with the switchback ramps seen in the movie of the same name. He also built a lot of other Chinese buildings and market stalls for me.

Just checked. The 'Dog-Head' heavy artillery piece, Burmese 'Fish Gun,' and Maratha Lion Mortar are all still available from Richard Houston's range sold at Patrick Wilson's "The Virtual Armchair General." If you do the Boxer Rebellion in 25mm you really should check out these guns. I have all of them and they add a lot of atmosphere and fun to the games.