Hi to all on PF ,

It that time for me to again share something that is the 2nd 75mm release from Dolman Miniatures , it a companion to the Scots Grey (although this is from an earlier period) which I recently also reviewed , here is the link :

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads/scots-grey-circa-1815-from-dolman-miniatures.56129/watch-confirm

As the title says its an Officer from the 10th Hussars in the Afghanistan conflict in 1879

As I like to do lets have some background first on the Regt and then on the actual conflict around Jalalabad .

No matter what country the Hussar serves , they have gained a reputation with a record of bravery and dash in any battle indeed they are even at times even more colourful and flamboyant when in barracks .

Our Regt the British 10th Hussars was certainly considered an elite unit with the social standing of its officers being as important as ever ...one of the most famous socialite was Beau Brummel .

The Regt was raised as a result of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715 as Humphrey Gore's Regiment of Dragoons (Regt's were named after the Colonels at this time) .
It fought at Culloden as Cobham's Regiment of Dragoons being retitled the 10th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751 10th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751.

During the Napoleonic period in 1806, the regiment was again changed , this time it became a 10th (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars).

In the Victorian period the Regt was sent to India in 1840 , later deploying in the Crimea seeing action at Sevastopol.
Another change of title happened in 1861 when they became the 10th (The Prince of Wales's Own) Royal Hussars.
They saw action in the Afghan Wars and later in the Sudan and in Egypt , deploying to South Africa in 1899 and the NW Frontier in 1908


At Jalalabad in 1879 the Regiment suffered a disaster immotalised by Rudyard Kipling as :

Ford o' Kabul RiverThe river disaster of the 10th Hussars 31 March 1879

"Gawd 'elp 'em if they blunder, for their

boots'll pull 'em under,

By the ford o' Kabul river in the dark."

- Rudyard Kipling

The 10th Hussars had been in Afghanistan since the beginning of the campaign, with two squadrons (commanded by Major Wood) present at the taking of Ali Masjid in the Khyber Pass, and another squadron (under Captain Bulkeley) joining General Roberts' Kurram Valley Field Force and seeing action at the Peiwar Kotal.

The cavalry left camp at 9.30 p.m on 31 March, and turned east out of Jalalabad to cross the Kabul river at Kalai Sak, roughly two miles from camp. They had to use the ford there as a trestle bridge, constructed by the British near Zangui, had recently been dismantled in expectation of rising waters from the melting mountain snows. Despite this, the ford was generally considered safe, with a 30' crossing to a small island, and the water about two and a half feet deep. The next part of the crossing was much wider and was lengthened even further due to the indirect line that kept to the shallows, 3' at their deepest, with the water running quite fast at about 9 miles an hour.

The closely packed Hussars were ordered to keep up behind the baggage mules that trailed the Lancers. Often at a ford, the route would be staked out, but sensitive to local villager's requests, none were planted. With each man tending to stray slightly downstream a few inches of the man in front, by the time the baggage mules were in it is possible they were actually treading water and were way off course. The Hussars blindly went into into the deep , horses panicked and turned, weighed down heavily with packs and saddles. The men fared no better with their heavy riding boots, full ammunition, swords and carbines slung over their shoulders, kicked by the flailing animals and in water up to 15' deep. Powerless, they were carried off into faster waters and eventually into rapids where, exhausted, many of them couldn't fight against the river and rocks, if indeed they were still able to.

Back at camp the alarm was raised when several riderless horses galloped in, dripping wet.

All together nineteen bodies were recovered out of forty-six lost, and thirteen horses were also drowned.

On 3rd April, the nineteen men were wrapped in blankets and buried in a 45' long grave in the British cemetery at the west end of the Jalalabad camp. The Reverend Arthur Male conducted the service, and the band played 'Dead March in Saul'.

Indeed a Regt with true grit and one who always gave it best , men at times paying the ultimate price.

Continued in next post:

Nap

Hi Folks ,

Back again after a very Bon appétit (thanks Tarracus)

On now to the actual model itself

What are we looking at :

Title: 10th Hussar Jalalabad 1879

Reference: R-75-2

Material: White Metal.

Number of items: 11

Scale: 75 mm.

Sculptor: Antonio Meseguer.

Box Art by: Eduardo Sanchez.

As with the Scots Grey the model was received quickly secured in a clear flip over container with the contents secured in plastic bags (No card in the Review as these were no available at the time) .

Contents are a total of 11 parts all in White Metal these being : Torso complete , the head, 2 Arms, the sword, the sabretache ,a pistol in a holster, sword knot and a wire for the whip plus a tiny piece for the end of this also a piece of metal to use for the spurs.

Begining with the largest of the pieces , out came the Optivisor , all I could find was a tiny line on the back of the right leg ...taken off quickly with ease.

Our hussar is wearing Campaign dress consisting of the kharki jacket , the dark blue trousers with leather boots , around his body he has a belt together with the distinctive pouch belt across his chest .

(The picture shows a later uniform but gives a very good picture of the belt design)



The sculpting is very clean indeed , folds in the uniform are well done and accurate to the postion of the body , pockets are nicely undercut as is the pouchbelt with nice details on this especially .

The collar is done up as befits an Officer .

Trousers are as worn with good and fine stripes doen the sides , boots look like they are fitting with spur straps also cast on (spurs need to be added using the piece of metal provided) .





The collar area has a deep recess to take the helmeted head which fits snugly into this .

Now to the head itself , this is depicted wearing the helmet with the chin straps hooked up , there is a casting line to carefully remove but once done , again all details on this are clean and very clear , the facial features are that of a well bred gentleman , lovely moustache , chin proudly forward .



The arms are also well don , they are wearing gloves (Leather) the Right handed one being in the process of being pulled on ...perhaps he is getting ready for the days work on the battlefield.



Fingers of the gloves are very well done ( the left hand being sculpt clentched holding the whip in a typical hussar fashion.


The sword and the knot next , firstly the sword this is the cavalry sword used by these troops , the hand protector hs all the bars clearly separated ...this must have been areal pain to cast ..so all credit to Dolman for achieving this standard.

The sword knot is tiny but well detailed , fitting will be a matter of patience with a great end result .






The pistol is in its holster again this is well done , I like the way the flap has been shown ...very nice .....(make sure the lanyard fits into the weapon end) , fitting tightly into a recess on the hip .



Last but not least we have the sabretache , this has the distinctive 3 plumes of feathers (Prince of Wales) and as such is an undress piece (as is the actual pouch which on the model is plain) ...see picture above.

No base is included which is the same as the Scots Grey.

Final thoughts on this figure , it has a very good appeal , the pose is natural , details are sharp and well defined , packaging is good .

75mm is a very popular scale in todays market giving the modeller a good sized figure which even if in white metal is not too much to handle during painting.

With careful painting you will have a fine piece to display and show off to fellow modellers.

Also on the website is additional information and pictures ...a bonus to all concerned

Website (Well worth a long visit) : www.dolmanminiatures.com



Thanks for sharing thiswith me and finally please enjoy the pictures of Eduardo's fabulous box art
Nap

Hi Guys,

Keith ,
Glad you enjoyd the review , hope all is well


Eduardo ,

Many thanks for posting your pictures


Nap