Sunday 25 September 2016

More Congo Tribesmen

Introduction

I've been busy trying to build enough figures to play a basic, 70pt game of Congo.  Here are the latest additions to my Forest Tribes force.  Mind you, even with these additions I think that I'm still slightly short of my goal, though I haven't stopped recently to add it all up.  Just one more unit should do it, I think...

Cannibals/Married Warriors


The Forest Tribes list for Congo has the potential to have 3 classes of warrior, all of whom are basically a man with a loincloth, spear and shield.  It may seem obvious  to others, but I struggled to think how I could make these categories visually distinct from each other.  I don't know about anybody else, but I don't enjoy games with units or models which have different capabilities but which look very similar to each other.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that I'd finish my Cannibals or Married Warriors (I doubt that I'd want to use both classes in the same game) with war paint.  These are the most experienced guys in the tribe; it seems reasonable that they would take the effort to do things properly!



The pattern I've used for my war paint is a simplified version of a scheme that originates in Papua New Guinea.  That's a long way from where my tribe is based, of course - but I figured that skeletal designs of paint are probably quite universal.  In any case, I found some excellent & very detailed photos of the Papuan tribe on the internet...

I remembered to add some war paint to the backs of these natives as well.  This is, again, for the benefit of the players: these models are distinctive from any viewing angle.


Young Warriors



In contrast, the Young Warriors have no markings or decorations, though a few have beads or bracelets.  They are either too brash and hasty to have applied war paint, or they can't afford the ingredients.  Or maybe it's just that they don't have a wife to apply it for them!  One way or the other, it doesn't really matter.



Conclusion

All of these figures are 28mm models from Foundry.  The natives are really quick to paint, so I expect to have my Forest Tribe ready for a game within a week or two.  Who knows?  I might even post a picture of the completed group at that time.  If nothing else, such a group photo would enable me to check whether I really do have the right number of figures after all!


21 comments:

  1. The war paint does indicate cannibals in a Ronseal type of way (It does what t says in the Skin!)
    Sorry about the joke but really good additions. Tarzan should be concerned!

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    1. In truth, some tribes encouraged their (unearned) reputation as "cannibals" in order to terrify their neighbours and deter trespassers. I don't think there's much real evidence of more than the occasional ritual consumption of human flesh in *any* culture, in Africa or elsewhere! Still, the Congo rules are all about what people *believed* rather than cold, hard reality...

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  2. These look superb, well done that man.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. I'm powering through these tribesmen; even with war paint they are fairly straightforward to finish!

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  3. Having visited your blog previously after being recommended here by Bryan Scott, I was once again recommended to it by Simon Moore of Fantorical, mainly because I've been indulging is a bit of Star Trek-inspired fun on my own blog 'Carrion Crow's Buffet' and your alternative models for Start Trek races are excellent. I am now a follower and the first post to welcome me is these wonderful tribesmen. The warpaint is inspired - I'm now itching to find an excuse to use this idea myself.

    Regards Jez

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    1. Thanks, Jez; that's very kind of you! I've come across your own blog before and I shall certainly keep a good eye on it in the future as well.

      You might like to know that as well as the starships, I've got a whole bunch of 28mm "not Star Trek" miniatures awaiting attention. Some day I'll get round to painting these and using them in games as well!

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  4. Jez I'm surprised it's taken you so long to find this blog, it's filled with an eclectic collection of goodies and full of inspiration.

    Hugh love the cannibals, great paint!

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    1. Again, thanks for the kind words. Your continued interest means a lot to me :-) .

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  5. Lookin good! Just about to start my last African Kingdom unit. As you say, they can all look a bit similar, hoping I have managed to ain't a bit of differentiation in... Like your war paint, good way of highlighting an elite unit.

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    1. I'm just aiming for 2 basic, 70pt "Congo" forces at the moment (White Explorers and Forest Tribes). No doubt I'll want to expand it later, as well as add Zanzibaris and (perhaps) an African Kingdom as well...

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  6. Love the skelleton paint job on them!

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    1. Applying white paint to an already "finished" model is a bit scary - but it turned out all right, I think!

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  7. THey look superb, love the Cannibals, very impressive!

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    1. Thanks, Phil. The good thing about African tribal war paint is that it can be quite rough; the lines don't have to be too precise :-) .

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    1. Thanks. Actually, these were quite easy to do (but I keep saying that, don't I :-) ).

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  9. Love the work you have done here. Good research always helps. This thought popped up in my mind as I looked at your beautifully painted minis ... bear with me ... have TV/Movie convention ever broke character and depicted natives as being more technologically advanced. Hmmmm, I wonder.

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    1. Thanks. From a Darwinian view, a society is as advanced as it needs to be to survive, else it perishes. Jungle tribesmen, or any other "native" group, are well enough adapted to their own environment but not necessarily able to cope with incomers who have different abilities. In particular, I suspect that the introduced concept of total war had far more impact on 19th century Africa than the "technological" advantages of gunpowder weapons &c.

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  10. Good idea having the 'war-paint' to distinguish these chaps from their fellow low-lifes.

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    1. It seems obvious in hindsight, doesn't it? Mind you, I think that "low lives" seems a bit harsh; these guys are just trying to defend their patch :-) !

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