Hi everybody ,

Its always interesting when the postman knocks with a parcel from Korea ...in excited anticipation I rip open the package to get to the contents...... this time it was from MJ Miniatures .

I have reviewed releases from MJ Kim in the past and we are all aware of his outstanding painting ability .

The subject of choice which was released in April is this :



It depicts Private Perry of the 24th weary and carrying the colour over his shoulder with his musket resting on the same with a waterbottle being held over the other.

Our subject has been the choice of modellers in the past who can forget Bill Horan's wonderful diorama version of the retreat from Chillianwallah ( he is depicted at the back left )

The battle happened at night on the 13th January 1849 resulting in the regiment loosing over 250 of its total strength, the battle was inconclusive and caused a retreat from the field.

The commander General Gough was heavily condoned for his callous use of the regiment telling them to not fire in the advance but to use the bayonet, he was as a result of the casualty total relieved of his command but due to lack of speed in communications did not hear of this till he had fought a successful battle at Gujerat which ended the Sikh wars and restored Gough's reputation, after the war he was raised to a Viscount.


The colours
Our subject carries the Regimental colour , both this and the Queens were presented in 1842, they were carried at Chillianwallah.

In the centre was the regimental number XXIV on its own, with II WARWICKSHIRE around it.

In 1852 the battle honors for PUNJAUB, CHILLIANWALLAH and GOOJERAT were sewn onto the Regimental Colour. The Queen's Colour was lost to the Sikhs.

In 1850 a new Queen's Colour arrived in Calcutta in October 1849 but by April 1850 had not reached the regiment. By warrant of 1843 the Queen's Colour was not permitted to have battle honours, so the only addition to the Union Flag was a crown and XXIV below.

In 1859 A new 2nd Battalion was raised in 1858 and they received Colours the following year. They were subject to new regulations that stated that the pole must have a royal crest in gilt at the top. The size of the flag was to be 4'4" by 4'. These Colours were left in the camp at Isandhlwana when the Zulus attacked. They were captured and probably destroyed when the British soldiers burned the Zulu kraals. Some remnants were later brought to light.

These colours were replaced by the 1866 colour seen here

This Colour replaced the large Colour carried by the 24th in the Sikh War of 1848. The second Battalion which had been raised in 1858 received a similar Regimental Colour in 1859. There is nothing on this Colour indicating which battalion it belonged to.

The last three battle honours, PUNJAUB, CHILLIANWALLAH and GOOJERAT were awarded on 14th Dec 1852.

The first battle honour EGYPT was awarded on 6th July 1802. TALAVERA, FUENTES D'ONOR, PYRENEES and ORTHES were awarded on 29th July 1817. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE on 21st June 1824, NIVELLE on 24th July 1824, SALAMANCA and VITTORIA on 20th Sep 1824. PENINSULA (not Peninsular) was first awarded to the old 2nd battalion on 29th March 1815 and conferred on the regiment on 15th Feb 1825.

The size of this Colour was 4'6" flying and 4' on the pole.


Medals were awarded for the wars with clasps as here


Troops wore the distinctive Albert shako ( named after Prince Albert the queens consort) often with a quilted cover , this is one without from the 49th Regt but the plate would have been the same.just a different number.

Books are available here are a few of my favourites

,
all make interesting reading indeed particularly the Regimental history one .

Continued in next post:

Nap

Lets rumble that Resin

Details of the release

Title: British Army 24th Regiment of Foot (Chillianwallah)

Reference: MJ10-005

Scale: 1/10th

Material: Lt Gray Resin

No of Part: 8

Sculptor: Carl Reid

Box Art: MJ Kim

As usual the presentation is good with clear colour pictures on the box top and the ends providing a good reference , more pictures later!!) .

Parts were in clear bags all held again in a bubblewrap envelope

Parts consist of the torso, the right arm ,the head with shako, the right arm , the end of the colour, waterbottle and the end strap , the musket , and a base

Prep
As expected this was easy with minimal amount of filler being needed when fitting together , I would suggest dryfitting the pieces before committing in place

Torso ...3 small bits of resin from the underneath and a casting line on the colour across the scrolls
Arm....Small plug from the elbow
Head...small bit from under the neck
Colour ...2 small plugs
Waterbottle...excess resin from the underside edge
Strap...small plug then fit
Musket....casting remnants on each end
Base...slight sanding on the lower edges

In this part of the review I will look at the torso the arm and the head

Torso ...this is classic Mr Reid , doing what he does best ...sculpt ...the uniform is dishevelled with the seams on the arms being torn , a nice touch , the jacket is open at the neck and at the lower edge showing his actual body with a bit of a belly button as well, we also seen a belt holding up his trousers ..another nice little addition .

Carl has done some nice folds on the uniform and the arms and not overworked.

Lacework is nicely defined with the the buttons all in place , the open button holes are also there to see.

Cuf details are the correct shape , the actual facing cuff is not lined in but as MJ has done this is easy to paint in .

The crossbelts are being worn and it looks like it , meeting in the middle with the belt plate , showing a nice badge with the regimental number surrounded by a wreath and surmounted by a crown.

The left arm is sculpted gripping the colour , as said nice folds with the "wings" on the shoulders being well worked especially the textures , the cuff is torn exposing the hand , nicely done on the fingers.

All details are sharp and this will make painting even more enjoyable.

The colour is draped around his shoulders as stated with the details that were embroidered on it all evident , the regimental number , the wreath ,( nice depth on the roses) , the battle honour scrolls are left blank , they have a good shape, at the back we can also see the lettering KSHIRE from the Warwickshire title.

The sit of the colour on the shoulders is great hanging naturally with folds that are quite deeply done.

Now to the Right Arm this again has the same level of details seen on the left fit to the shoulder is very good with only a minimal bit of filler required.

The Head now...this includes the shako in the shape of the Albert Shako but without the back peak , the shako is covered by a quilted material , I particularly liked this , the join at the buttons securing the cover , facial features are as with all of Carl's work sharp and in his distinctive style, the hair is long with some nice texture , fit to the neck area is clean with no filler required.


Continued in next post

Nap

Onto the final parts

The Colour this is the ragged end that sits into the left hand , filler will be required when doing so , there are no details apart from the torn edges , as with the rest of the colour on the Torso folds are deep and enjoyable to see.

The Waterbottle
and the Strap , again we see Carl at work on both, the waterbottle has the strap around it ,good undercuts here , the strap is opened with the buckle being well done , sitting nicely in position.


The Musket , this is the Brown Bess , these were later adapted to become a percussion mechanism , the review sample was slightly warped but this is easy to straighten by CAREFUL use of hot water .
The musket has a good mechanism showing with it not being cocked , the trigger guard and the swivels and the ramrod are good , I will drill out the actual barrel slightly .
There is no sling but this is easy to make if you so wish.

Now to the Base , the standard one here , textured and perfectly suitable for purpose if you choose to use it or maybe a brass rod is your preference.

Lets have some unpainted pictures .

and now some more of the box art

Final Thoughts

As said classic Carl Reid sculpting , well produced and nicely cast , good presentation in all apsects , this will undoubt be very popular and provide a very colourful and addition to the display cabinet in addition to giving you plenty of great benchtime fun.

For more details on this and all the other great releases in all scales why not visit the website at:

www.mj-miniatures.co.kr

e mail: mjminiatures@gmail.com

Thanks to for the Review piece and all of you for looking in

Nap

Hi Ian ,

Just checked and yes you are right no shirt and a bit of a belly button ...review amended!!..thanks for pointing this out .

Nap

Hi Steve ,

That is a good point the Albert did have a back peak and certainly not detachable ...this is an officers cap showing it

It's definately the wrong shape for any other cap ..certainly be interested to hear where the reference came from , thinking about it the front peak has quilting on it ...not seen that before ...perhaps a painting

Here is also some pics of a clothed figure from 1/6th group showing the peak at the back and also a 75mm ..on the model it would be fairly easy to add on IMO ...maybe Private Perry cut his one off?

Nap

Cheers Mick ...I found the sketch in amongst my many boxes of pictures ....the shako is definately the Albert , can't be anything else ....

Like you say a simple conversion if you add either a rear peak or indeed a neck cloth .

Thanks for your input ..that's what it's all about here

Nap

Totally agree

Nap