| Oh Bugger | 10 Jul 2014 7:09 a.m. PST |
I have the Osprey on the Tai Ping war and so know the Tai Pings had long hair in defiance of Manchu reqirement that the Chinese wore pigtails. They wore turbans and their clothes fastened on the opposite side to those of the Mancu troops. Armament seems to have been long 12 foot spears and for a minority firearms. There were also some female regiments. Red and black seem to have been popular colours although some troops were turned out in a riot of coloured silk clothes. Tactics seem to have been agressive and I've seen some mention of effective use of artillery. I would be very grateful if anyone can add to the above thanks in advance. |
| altfritz | 10 Jul 2014 7:20 a.m. PST |
Foundry has an excellent Ian Heath book on the subject. Try ebay…I think you can find it there. |
| Captain Clegg | 10 Jul 2014 8:40 a.m. PST |
Have a look for these books for starters ARMIES OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: ASIA: CHINA
by Ian Heath
(1998) ISBN 1 901543 02 1 Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War [Hardcover]
Stephen R. Platt |
| Big Martin Back | 10 Jul 2014 8:49 a.m. PST |
I can recommend God's Chinese Son as a good read on the period. |
Frederick  | 10 Jul 2014 8:51 a.m. PST |
Fair summary The Tai Pings were an interesting bunch and their command structure was a total disaster – still, they did whup the Imperial Army and to contain them the Imperial Government called for help from a lot of quarters, including creating the Ever Victorious Army (which is a story all to itself!) |
| Captain Clegg | 10 Jul 2014 9:15 a.m. PST |
It makes for an interesting period, you could have Taipings, manchus and a motley assortment of European civilians as well as European regulars, all legitimately fighting one or the other. I have just started reading around this very subject, could well be my next project. |
| Rdfraf | 10 Jul 2014 9:22 a.m. PST |
Check out the 2007 movie "The Warlords" about a bandit band who join the Imperials to fight the Taipings and the the three blood brothers who lead them. The depiction of the Imperial troops and Taipings look pretty good. It stars Jet Li and Andy Lau so the heroics are a bit over the top but there's not many films set during this war so for anyone interested in the Taiping rebellion it's a must see. youtu.be/Ns8379_8pDQ |
| Henry Martini | 10 Jul 2014 6:07 p.m. PST |
I planned to do this at one point until the reality of the number of projects I've already got figures for sank in; maybe one day. Chinese warfare in this period was all about making lots of noise and a big show, so small numbers of troops trained in the European fashion had a disproportionate effect on proceedings. For figures, there are some contemporary Imperial types in the Irregular Boxer rebellion range, and there's a small US manufacturer with a specialist range, whose name escapes me. There's even a dedicated free basic ruleset, 'The Four Eyed Dog is Dead', by Tony Cullen, available from staineswargamers.org. The Foundry book is essential reading. |
| Henry Martini | 10 Jul 2014 7:15 p.m. PST |
That US producer is The Quarter Master/Falcon Figures, and the Chinese range is currently listed. |
| Repiqueone | 10 Jul 2014 10:07 p.m. PST |
The Devil's Soldier by Caleb Carr. |
| Oh Bugger | 11 Jul 2014 2:10 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the replies so far. Any specific info anyone has to hand would be gratefully recieved. I have some of the Falcon 15mm Tai Ping and Imperials nice figures but they are very hard to get a hold of nowadays. There should be some very good news shortly for those of us who want to game this period in 15mm. Henry's point about Chinese warfare is well made for the Imperials but the Tai Ping liked to get stuck in. |
| Captain Clegg | 11 Jul 2014 2:48 a.m. PST |
As this seems a reasonable time to ask, would there be interest in a 28mm range? |
| Oh Bugger | 11 Jul 2014 3:26 a.m. PST |
Foundry did one in 28mm they looked nice. |
| Rdfraf | 11 Jul 2014 7:11 a.m. PST |
If anyone is interested I have a lot of unpainted figures from Foundry's Taiping range that I would like to sell off. I have more than I can ever paint. Email me at Rdfraf@aol.com |
 The Virtual Armchair General  | 11 Jul 2014 9:59 a.m. PST |
The complete Tai-P'ing War Flags Collection in 15mm and 28mm--and all other gaming scales--are still very much available from TVAG via this link Colors and Standards of the "Imitation Foreign Devils" and more are also available, as well as additional background information, simply by following the links. Go and see the most authentic flags in the hobby! TVAG |
| Oh Bugger | 11 Jul 2014 2:55 p.m. PST |
I'm a 15mm gamer myself but I'd hope Rdfraf's offer gets taken up and as someone who bought Patrick's Tai Ping flags I can attest that they look very fine. I took the advice from altfritz and Captain Clegg about Ian Heath's Foundry book, checked ebay and found it for £55.00 GBP phoned Foundry and got it it for £29.00 GBP including postage. I should have bought it for £16.95 GBP when it was first released but I'm still pleased to have saved myself £25.00 GBP |
looks at a multi-period building.