Perry Plastic British Infantry of the Sudan

I purchased some of Perry's recently released plastic British Infantry at Salute this year, for gaming in colonial Afghanistan or the Sudan and have thrown together a quick overview of what I think of them.

At this point, I should inform you that there is an excellent review  compiled by Stefan over at Monty's Caravan which is worth checking out.

Due to my usual slow progress in all areas, I have only managed to complete one infantry sprue so far, but have formed enough of an impression to hopefully give you all a helpful heads-up.

Here are the two types of sprues contained within the box; you get six infantry sprues (left) and two command sprues (right) giving a wide range of options for firing, loading and 'at the ready' positions for the private infantrymen, along with officers, drummers and sergeants on the command sprue. There is even a dog, Bobbie, a survivor of the Battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan between the 66th Regiment of Foot and local Afghan tribesmen in 1880.

Included in the box are some useful painting and construction guides, along with eight regimental colours, giving you the option to parade your men as a variety of colonial British troops (although, disappointingly there are no colours for use in the Sudan, despite the set being designed with that theatre in mind, albeit, as an afterthought, possibly).

A few of my favourite poses so far - with the usual apologies for my poor photography skills - illustrating what can be achieved with only limited modelling skills. I really like these figures and all are well detailed and proportioned with a wide range of possible poses. My limited painting skills are such that I go for the worn, dirty look; which is in keeping with desert deployments.

If I have any criticism it is with the sometimes fiddly assembly required; particularly with some of the riflemen and their two-part arm construction requiring a degree of dexterity (I am in no way ham-fisted, by the way) to achieve the desired effect. However, with practice, this was soon overcome. The lack of suitable colours for the Sudan, as already mentioned, was also a slight let down; if anyone knows of suitable examples elsewhere, I would be grateful to find out.

                                    

Finally, an 'action' shot of three Tommies facing up to a couple of plucky Perry plastic Fuzzies to give an indication of size, which, I think you will agree is spot-on.

All in all, I recommend these to any fans of colonial gaming and look forward to additions in this plastic range.

That's it, for now.

Monty