From LeeH : Zulu iNkobamakhosi Regiment (300 Points)

My big project this winter is a radical move away from the Ancients and WWII Desert stuff I have worked on in previous Challenges. I have been thinking, planning, reading and preparing to do the Anglo Zulu War in 6mm for some time and being a crazy madman I immediately decided to go for a low figure to man ratio; meaning I was going to be painting very large numbers of figures. My first entry for this project is therefore 12 bases of Zulu warriors of the iNkobamakhosi regiment. Each base has 48 figures and representing about 500 warriors per base so this lot is a 6000 warrior regiment.

As usual Baccus figures have excellent detail and were a pleasure to paint. I didn't find them particularly difficult to complete; the real test when working on hundreds of identical figures is that of infinite patience and the ability to 'zone out' a bit while painting. Fortunately I enjoy listening to music while painting and that helps the time shoot past.

The iNkobamakosi (aka "The Benders of the Kings") were a large unmarried regiment that fought in many of the major engagements in the Anglo Zulu War including Isandlwana, Hlobane, Khambula and Uhlundi. The shields were of various colours such as black, black with white spots, red and red with white spots so I have tried to represent this here. Accounts of the size of this regiment varies from as as low as 4000 warriors up to 8000 depending which source you look at. I have gone with a middle figure of 6000 for now, but may add to these at a later stage.

Painting 576 Zulu's in one batch was a tough effort and probably not something I'll do again in a hurry! Subsequent regiments that are planned for the Challenge are much smaller and therefore should be much more manageable. 

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Wow! 576 Zulus in one submission - that is an absolutely amazing block of work, Lee. Bravo! 

I like your large figure-count approach to this project. I think its good to reflect the mass of these Zulu regiments to help put these battles into perspective. The closeup of the figures is astonishing. I love the detail you put into their shields, headgear, ruffs, etc. Wonderful work.

This regiment will give you 288 points which I'm going to pip-up to 300 for the care and attention (and gruelling dedication) you've put into getting them done in such short order. Well done!