New Zealand Camelier

This is a 1/16th scale of a 1915-1917 period New Zealand soldier of the Imperial Camel Corps. His cap badge is that of the Auckland Mounted Rifles. He's wearing a KD shirt and trousers, 1903 ANZAC style ammo bandoleer, Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle, boots and putties. The size of the figure is on scale for about 5 feet 4 inches, shorter than I usually make, but I thought the smaller size would be interesting on top of the tall camel.

The camel was originally from a Verlinden kit. The tan resin parts are from Model Cellar. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the head is from a Dragon kit. The figure is made from a mix of Magic Sculpt and Kneadatite (aka Duro). I intend to add some scrub grass and a bit more sand and gravel. The reason the figure looks a bit greasy is I cleaned it with Vitalis (a US commercial brand of hair oil) and it hasn't quite dried. By using Vitalis, generally I avoid the ugly grey precipitate depositing in folds. Ugh! The oil in the Vitalis eventually dries out leaving a relatively clean finish.

I don't know if you can tell or not, but he's rolling a cigarette.

Hope you like it!

All the best,
Dan

Dan, I think this is your best yet! One minor point, should there be any studs in the boots?

Roger.

Hi Roger! I don't think so. If the soldier was originally part of a Aussie or NZ Mounted Rifle regiment, I may be wrong, but I don't believe they used hob nail boots. Some evidence...

Australian Mounted Rifle 1914 pattern boots;
Two famous NZ soldiers -
Trooper Anderson who became a Camelier
Corporal Reed who was with the Mounted Rifles

All the best,
Dan

Well that's good enough for me. it's just something that stood out. I suppose you didn't have to walk far if you had a camel and if you did it would be on sand.

Roger.

Looks excellent Dan.

Marc

Thanks Marc & Roger!

I'm looking for someone to paint both the New Zealander and the German. Lots of camel to paint!!!

All the best,
Dan

Impressive!

Where did the rifle come from ?

Thanks and thank you for asking, Gordy! A long out of production DJ Parkin kit!

All the best,
Dan

Dan,
Good job,they turned out well.
Andy

Hey Dan, isn't that the head from the Dragon 'Michael Wittmann' figure?

You're a fully fledged sculptor now, you don't need to use other peoples stuff!

Use the Force Dan, use the Force.........

Cheers,
Jon.

Thanks Andy!

Jon -

From time to time, I will probably still use someone else's heads and/or hands, even though I've sculpted both from scratch several times. It would have taken longer to do an original head and, frankly, I wanted to concentrate on the entire project, not just a head. Is it the head from the Dragon Michael Wittman kit? Who knew? Several years ago I purchased heads and hands from people on e-Bay. Haven't done that in years, but I still have a lot left. Just to be clear, I also used Verlinden camels on both the NZ and German camel projects. I will probably continue to use parts from other kits once in awhile. Basically, I'm just having fun...and I hope you are too!

FYI - Jon - I just re-read the above. My comments are not meant to start an argument or anything like that. I hope you are not offended. I respect your point of view and your work.

All the best,
Dan

Dan Morton said:

Thanks Marc & Roger!

I'm looking for someone to paint both the New Zealander and the German. Lots of camel to paint!!!

All the best,
Dan

Click to expand...

Dan, if you need someone to paint that German, I could be persuaded BTW, the New Zealander is quite nice and really captures the period perfectly

Excellent work Dan.You have done a great job.Look forward to see him painted.

Regards,John

Brilliant Dan. Such a unqiue subject to tackle.

Another terrific camelier, Dan.

I really never knew the ANZACs (or German Colonials for that matter) had camel troops, so this is all good, unique stuff! Especially after the missus and I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon watching 'Lawrence of Arabia'.

Rudi

Matthew, John, Tony, Rudi - Many thanks fellas!

All the best,
Dan

Hi Rudi,

The Imperial Camel Corps played an important role within the Desert Mounted Corps commanded by Australian Lt Gen Harry Chauvel, fighting against the Turks in Palestine and Syria in 1917-18.

Most of the ICC were formed out of the 1916 reorganisation in that split the AIF after Gallipoli, with the bulk of the infantry going to France to fight the Germans and the bulk of the mounted forces staying in the Middle East to fight the Turks. The ICC were particularly well suited to long range reconaisance patrols in the desert and earned a reputation for being tough, hardy and reliable fighters, but were not well regarded by the British because of their equally well-earned reputation for drunkensess and insubordination behind the lines. Because camels can carry heavier loads over longer distances than horses, the cameleers tended to carry much more gear and travelled in comparative luxury compared to his mates in the Light Horse.

They were comprised from a number of sources, Australian Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Infantry and even some British Cavalry Units.

Unlike the proud Walers of the Light horse, the men of the ICC bore no great love for their mounts and happily turned their camels out to live in the desert when their units were eventually disbanded and they returned to horses.

The role of the Imperial Camel Corps in the campaigns in the Middle East during WW1 are a very obscure and largely unknown part of the history of the war, and remain overshadowed by the more gloroius and famous exploits of their brothers in the Light Horse.

Beautiful work . Your improvement and courage on such a big scale are remarkable !
Congratulations my friend

Costas

GREAT JOB, Dan !

Dan,
Another EXCELLENT piece from your talented hands !!!!! Cheers !
Kenneth .

Many thanks Costas and Kenneth!!

All the best,
Dan