The Zulu umCijo regiment in 10mm for Black Powder (& How to paint them)

So it took me a while to get around to my Zulu's... but get around to them I did!

A far more fascinating army than most people give them credit for. They were highly organised, highly militarised and highly trained. On the one hand you could just write them off as being a militia army where everybody had to serve... but if you look below the surface there can be found more than a few similarities to the old Spartan agoge system.

Its these similarities that I believe allowed the Zulu war machine to dominate South East Africa and crush the British army three times in as many months with a fourth catastrophe the size of Isandlwana only being avoided by a single lucky decision.

Having bought the Warlord rule set Black Powder with its expansion I was in somewhat of a quandary over how to base them given the huge regimental force disparity between the Colonials and the Zulu forces that were fielded.

Eventually I have settled on a base size of 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch to a base.

This size enabled me to make my Zulu regiments pretty packed with manpower giving a great impression of strength on the field and allowed me also make my British companies look well represented as well whilst all of the skirmish troops could also be put onto bases of these sizes and look suitable as well.

A full 15 base view of the umCijo (The Sharpeners) regiment (ibutho)

The first thing to be addressed was how to mix up all of the figures that I had so that a noticeable difference between married and unmarried regiments could be maintained whilst still giving a look of extreme variety.

This in itself wasn't such an issue. Where things become problematic however is that Zulu regimental uniforms were as rigid as those in the British army and there is such a variety of personal dress on the zulu miniatures that it became necessary to concede ground on how rigid one is willing to be with their uniforms.

Ultimately I had to resolve on a course of action that allowed me to field regiments with a good level of variety in their troops but which also at least flirted with uniformity. I took the plunge and decided to do my regiments based primarily on shield colours but to pay lip service to the uniformity of the regiment as far as the miniatures allowed and incurring as little cost to the aesthetic as possible.

The umCijo ibutho's Induna with his two wing commanders... 

With this in mind I separated the unmarried Zulus into ones that were sporting heavy ceremonial dress and those that were dressed in a somewhat more Spartan fashion and formed my unmarried regiments from these two piles.

As with many other wargamers out there I decided that the regiments in my army would be identified by their shields alone... thus allowing myself the luxury of grouping variously attired Zulu's into the same ibutho.

The Induna stands out because of his black Sakabuli bird headdress
and his white Crane feather, which the two wing officers also sport

If there is something that the guys at Warlord Games do really REALLY well, it is present books with exceptionally well painted miniatures in. Drooling over the Zulu War supplement one of the things that particularly stood out to me was the Zulu skin colour and the fact that neither their blacks nor their whites were pure colours but rather these areas were built up from Black to Dark Greys in the case of the blacks and from a selection of beiges to matt whites in the whites.

A more frontal view of the umCijo with their black izihlangu (war shields) decorated on the lower half with white spots

I, true to form, decided that I would accept no substitute and put myself through an artistic mincer whilst I worked out which colours worked...

But, fortunately I think I almost nailed it!

A look at one of the umCijo bases showing one of the rifle armed Zulus wearing a 24th Regiment of Foot soldiers jacket...
obviously looted from the field of Isandlwana, 22nd January 1879

That 'nailing of the colours' however does have one caveat; these were a LOT more time consuming to paint than I ever expected!

This one group of 90 zulus took me an entire week to paint when I estimated a total time of 3 days

It turns out that my estimations of time to paint this year have been wrong...so wrong that the gulf between estimates would be the difference between turning up to a nuclear missile fight with a sharp stick!

A view of the rear of one of the umCijo bases showing the monkey tails and the
leopard skins and headbands that were so popular amongst the Zulu warrior culture. 

Anyway, on the whole I'm happy with the way the paint scheme has turned out with these so I will take you through the process now. 

The basing scheme,as of yet, I am undecided about due to the fact that South Africa can be an exceptionally vibrant area festooned with rich and intense greens, however nobody who was brought up on a diet of Zulu Dawn and Zulu can deny the attractiveness of the burnt out summer grasses of the Drakenfeld range of mountains in South Africa where Zulu was actually filmed so I'm trying to work out a scheme that will satisfy that aesthetic urge as well.

A frontal view of the base shown above

Ok so lets crack on with this.

Zulu Skin Colour
A base coat of Games Workshops Rhinox Hide
A 1st Highlight of Vallejo's Charred Brown (045)
A 2nd Highlight of Vallejo's Flat Brown (984) - and this one is the REALLY important colour as it provides the final tonality that general observation of the Zulus will give.

A good view showing the Zulu izihlangu war shields that were probably not actually that prolific in 1879

Zulu Weapons and Shields

Assegai (Ikwla) Shaft & Musket/ Rifle Body
A basecoat of Vallejo's German Camo Medium Brown (826)
A 1st highlight of Vallejo's Beige Brown (875) - This is used to paint the grain by painting streaks along the shaft of the Ikwla or Firearm

Ikwla Blade & Musket/ Rifle Barrel
A single coat of Molten Metals 'Steel'


Zulu Shield Colours
For Blacks:
A base coat of Games Workshops Abaddon Black
A 1st highlight of stippled Vallejo's German Grey (995)

For Whites:
A base coat of Vallejo's Iraqi Sand (819)
A 1st highlight of stippled Vallejo's Ivory (918)

A good shot showing one of Pendrakens rifle armed Zulu warriors running forwards with his izihlangu.
Rifles and muskets were actually VERY common amongst the Zulu soldiery by the time of the Anglo-Zulu War

Zulu Clothing

Leather Loincloth
A basecoat of Vallejo's Chocolate Brown (872)
A 1st Highlight of Vallejo's Flat Earth (983) - This can also be used to paint the leather thongs that line the top of the feather frills and that attach the front of the loincloth to the rear loincloth.

A good look at the skin tones aimed for with the paint scheme as described in the text.

Wardress and Decorations

Feather Frills

A basecoat of Vallejo's Chocolate Brown (872)

A 1st highlight of Vallejo's Ivory (918) - This needs to be applied lightly with a mix of drybrush and light paint strokes.

Leopard Skins

A single layer of Vallejo's Yellow Ochre (913)

The spots are painted using Vallejo's Black (950)

Monkey Tails

A single layer of Vallejo's Iraqi Sand (819)

The stripes are painted using Vallejo's Black (950)

A rear view of the umCijo ibutho in all its glory.

So there we have it. You can use whatever varnish you see fit, but for me I prefer to use Army Painters Anti Shine Varnish

These colours should stand your Zulu army in good stead...

Now; Eat Up the Red Soldiers!