Rorke`s Drift 1879

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you!

Another 200 Mealie Bags have been added! I will probably need even more sacks of corn than the 900 I estimate.

Massimo Costa kindly sent me 3 dead British officer horses, 2 unsaddled and one saddled horse. Here in the picture with unmarried warriors of the inDluyengwe regiment. They wielded black shields with white spots.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

And another 200 mealie bags on. I have finished the northern barricade, it has a height of between three and four English feet, as it is reported. Everything still has to be painted, of course.

I have already started with the southern barricade, it was built 4 feet high and faced towards Oskarberg.

The two ox wagons were integrated into this barricade. What these looked like is very well documented. One of these cars was sketched on the morning after the battle. I will build the two wagons the same way, that is, load them with boxes and sacks of corn and strengthen them, as in the picture.

[Peter]

You have a very good eye for the details Wolfgang! Great find of that wagon! Thanks for sharing!

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you Peter!

I took a test photo once to show what the Zulu would see at the northern barricade once they had made it there. Completely different than in the movie "Zulu", the Zulu had to go up the hill and then overcome the cliff edge and the barricade.

It's really just a test photo, there is also the painting of the barricade and all of the greenery. The later assembly with figures, be it British or Zulu, is much more dense and tailored to the respective scenes.

[Santi Pérez]

Very nice to see the fantastic progress of your huge diorama, Wolfgang.

Congratulations.

Santi.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you, Santi!

I'm a little further at my barricades. I've finished the southern barricade too. The two ox wagons are already glued, but I still have to pack the boxes and sacks of corn on top and bottom. These are only provisionally added for the photo. For the right diorama I will make new ones, like on the old sketch from January 1879.

The entire barricade will of course be painted in a brownish sack tone.

[Peter]

"Carry on" Wolfgang!

[C M Dodson]

Great research, great modelling and you can sense that a modelling piece of art from the master is on the way.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Peter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYJFSJs ... mericanTom

[Wolfgang Meyer]

I glued the first group of figures from Alphonse de Neuville's painting in the diorama. Fantastically modeled by Massimo Costa. It is the first group of the Jonesses evacuations from the hospital.

Then the Mealie-Bag Barricade received its first paint job. This is followed by a washing and a dry brush.

The bisque box barricade, the two Mealie Bag pyramids and the barricading of the two ox wagons are still missing.

The other figures are only used to assess the proportions. Later in the diorama they are all behind the second defensive line.










Today I barricaded the two ox wagons with boxes and mealie bags. When everything is dry, I can paint it too.

[C M Dodson]

Beautiful work from the Master.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you Chris!

The two ox wagons have now also got their barricade made of boxes and meal bags. The figures are only added for size comparison. They are later given a different place in the diorama together with 900 other figures.

[Peter]

I love every little detail that you are adding to this diorama. The barricades are really fantastic done!

[kinjack]

Honestly can't wait to see this finished!

Are you using 28mm?

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you! I only build in 1/72 scale!

Best regards, Wolfgang

[panzerman825]

Epic project. Wonderful progress being made. Much admiration for your attention to details. The adversaries, their look and tactics. The ground work, the buildings, barricades, and stone walls. Your miniatue topography borders on reality. Bravo!
Bill

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Epic project. Wonderful progress being made. Much admiration for your attention to details. The adversaries, their look and tactics. The ground work, the buildings, barricades, and stone walls. Your miniatue topography borders on reality. Bravo!
Bill

Thank you, Bill!

[Bluefalchion]

I am glad you are showing us the terrain and buildings and walls and wagon barricades and such now. When the nearly 1,000 figures are put into the diorama, I am probably only going to have eyes for them.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you!

The second line of defense, the barricade made of biscuit boxes, is also ready. Here again provisionally shown with some figures to document the size.

[Bluefalchion]

Were the biscuit boxes filled with biscuits? If so, we can insert here a joke about the inedibility of military rations and their possible secondary usefulness as a defense against projectiles.