The Nizari Assassins -from Gripping Beast Plastic Arabs

 

The project was to create a Nizari, “Hashashin” Retinue of Assassins using Gripping Beast figures. I chose the plastic figures because none of the metal ones struck me as Assassin material, they all seem to be designed to be martialled in ranks as big units, whereas the kit bash potential of the plastics combined with some very characterful facial expressions said, “please use us!” So, I did.

When assembling a new retinue, particularly if it involves creating new figures, the first thing you need to know is what they looked like. Usually this is not a problem, if you are researching Napoleons’ Imperial Guard or the 1^st Airborne at Arnhem there are many thousands of images you can download from various sources, however, once you ignore the numerous Assassin Creed, D and D and other fantasy options, there is very little evidence for how the Nizari actually dressed. This is of course due in part to a penchant for disguise, the Nizari were masters of hiding themselves in plain sight, in fact, we can dress our Assassins as pretty much anything from the same region and era. This provides many options, they could be wearing the attire of grooms, servants, soldiers, priests, potentially even the Military Orders…

I decided to make mine Islamic figuring that the Nizari had more conflicts with their Islamic neighbours that they did with the Frank invaders and because I really wanted to paint some Islamic figures! I think I will expand my collection at some future time to include more civilian types and few disguised as Western soldiers.

What makes an Assassin? A dagger or possibly two. I reckon any figure, particularly a furtively stooped or crouched figure, will make a good Assassin as long as its carrying a dagger or two!

GB Arab Spearmen and Archers set, GBP04

Gripping Beast plastics are the grandaddy of the multipart plastics world, it was the GB Arab Heavy Cavalry that got me back into gaming after a long hiatus when I spotted them in a model shop window in Salisbury about 15 years ago. I converted them into Haradrim Mumak riders.

There are eight frames in the box each with five figures which means you can create a very respectable 40 figures. You can have all 40 as spearmen or create up to 16 archers and 16 javelin men

There are enough shields for each figure to carry one and they come in two different styles, round and “fat kite” shaped

There are eight heads, two of which have scarves over their faces, perfect for Assassins!

These are all very characterful.

Some GB spearmen, the Dark Age warrior set for example, have the left arm sculpted closely to the body, great for holding a shield but limiting the potential for kit bashing, these guys do not suffer from that problem quite so much.

Of the nine right arms two are holding bows, one brandishes a rather fancy sword, and one totes a long straight trumpet. 

The range of different heads, weapons and poses does not compare to that presented by the WGA kits, however these kits are nearly thirty years old and have far smaller fames so that’s not so surprising. The figures are well proportioned, crisp and smooth, with minimal cast lines, they are perfect for painting.

This kit is designed for creating units and as such succeeds admirably, it is somewhat limited in its potential for creating a skirmish force but that’s’ exactly what I am going to do

Assassin Heroes!

The body, and cloak, for the Captain, that is the Fidais Shaykh, came from a GB Dark Ages Welsh figure, his head is GB Arab Heavy Cavalry, and the knives are both from my spares box and probably originated from Frostgrave figures.

  I like the angle his head is held at, its as if he is going all in with the overhead stab that started at his hip!

  I imagine him disguised as a Turcopole, he has maybe infiltrated the Templars themselves! 

He is a work in browns, mostly Citadel, Mournfang etc for the tunic, Rhinox et al for the cloak, the little skirty thing is done with AP Fanatics Burnt Turf and Desert Yellow. All browns are washed and glazed with Agrax.

A Fidais, a fully trained Assassin, in Ruckus terms he would be a Squire. His body is from the GB Arab Spearmen and Archers set, as is his head. His tunic is painted with Citadel Balor Brown trio, his head covering is the Citadel Khemri Dust trio

The leather belt and pouch use the leather recipe of Valejo Chocolate, Flat Earth, and highlighted with Dark Sand and washed with Smoke

This next Character is another Fidais this time in a dark blue theme based on the deep desert “Blue men”, the Tuaregs, I met when travelling in Morocco near the Sahara

All the parts for this figure came from GBP04

Taureg 

The blue black of the head covering is Citadel Kantor blue mixed with black and highlighted by adding lighter blues to the mix

The blue grey of the tunic is Citadel the Fang, plus highlights, glazed with Tyran Blue 

Assassin Novices disguised as Sufis

a common disguise was that of the Sufi dancer or “Whirling Dervish”, the long white robes and red felt hat may also have been associated with Assassins traditional dress so feels quite appropriate 

A true Tommy Copper fez. After I painted this figure I found some images of Sufis and it is far more likely that the hat would have been a natural pale brown rather than this bright red

 The white gown was painted with my “warm white “ recipe of Citadel Screaming Skull washed wit a pale mix of Zhandri Dust and highlighted with Vallejo Ivory 

Leather as before, little red boots Citadel Khorne trio

Another “Sufi”!

Nizari Spearmen

A Nizari spearman, these were unlikely to have looked any different to the other Islamic infantry

I used a “cold white”  mix for his turban beginning with a mid-grey and adding white for consecutive highlights until I reached a “near white” I rarely use a pure white and only then for highlights 

The shield is predominantly Foundry Terracotta with some Citadel Rhinox and Zamesi for the detail

The Tunic is AP Fanatic from the Ochres and Tans triad. Tundra Taupe, Prairie Ochre and Desert Yellow

The arm band is Mephiston Red with detailing and border from Vallejo Stone Golem

The lettering is Arabic from one of the 99 names of God as near as I could render it!

Many if not all Islamic warriors of the period would have one

Not the best version of this pic but the best I could get to download. 

This spearman sports a lattice pattern on his shield. The shield is stippled with Citadel Ungor Flesh and Tau something and glazed with Seraphim Sepia

Again the armband, this time in Black and Stone Golem. When painting very small detail like this it is not always a good idea to use a tiny brush as the very small amount of paint used dries very quickly on the brush and it can be a challenge to paint curves, and the brush is simply too light and frail to direct. Instead, try a normal sized brush, a 1 for example, with a good pointy tip. 

A much larger target but I did not do so well as the script should be flat and level whereas this is a bit slanty

  I love this guy’s face, so characterful

  The skin colour is Foundry Dusky flesh

The wood of the spear is another Foundry Triad, Spearshaft, which has a very marked contrast between its lightest and darkest shades which can produce quite a variety of different looking effects depending on how much of each shade you leave exposed 

See what I mean about the face?

Assassin Archers

An archer! The blue is my friend the Fang again, “triple dotted” with Stone Golem

  The troos are Citadel Orange 

Here is another archer. He has a tunic of Citadel Steel Legion Drab, Tallarn Sand and Karak Rock

The turban is black highlighted with Citadel Dark Reaper

Another spotty tunic, must be in vogue. When you look closely the spots are very irregular in size and shape, fortunately they are usually seen at more than arm’s length and such inaccuracies can be explained as being due to the various folds in the cloth etc

 I like this guy’s pose, is he picking a target or following the flight of an arrow?

I think this guy’s armband says “Death to the de Lynnes and to any of Mark Taylors armies” 

There you go, Gripping Beast plastic Arabs, adaptable, characterful, distinctive and individual enough for Skirmish Forces and yet cheap, cheerful and plentiful, a real bargain and fantastic for filling the ranks of your Big Battle Armies