Sunday 7 November 2010

Peruvian ‘Regular’ Forces

Peruvian Regulars

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The regular infantry companies of Peru. Brass Helmets, White Tunics, Red Trousers. 

Cavalry Companys

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Three squadrons of cavalry and a battery of horse artillery. 

Artillery 

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Krupp 6 Pounders.

Armoured Artillery Conveyors 

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A 6” Naval gun mounted in a diesel powered armoured shell. 

Ironclad Destruction Guns

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Due to the defensive nature of Peru’s defence policy, the decision was made to channel funding to large defensive guns rather than mobile land ironclads. A number of 48” Webley-Armstrong Rocket Cannons were installed in defence of key strategic locations along the cost. The slow moving 48” rocket propelled shell proved to be highly effective against both naval and land ironclads throughout the Spanish Reclamation. 

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Friday 5 November 2010

The Peruvian Land Navy

“Inversimil Yacumama” 2nd Class LandCrusier

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The most powerful land-ship in the Peruvian land navy, the “Inversimil Yacumama” (trans Improbable Sea-monster), was converted from a abandoned privateer cruiser in 1882. Although the machine appears cumbersome, it is in fact highly stable and fast moving. As she did at sea in her original incarnation, the “Inversimil Yacumama” is a highly effective Land Cruiser, able to penetrate or outflank enemy battle lines at hit hard at her venerable supply lines and command posts.

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“Boxeador, Katherine and Nuevo Generosidad”, 3rd Class Battle Ironclads

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The “Boxeador, Katherine, Nuevo Generosidad” are all examples of modern land ironclads of the British Rhomboid design. Modern, well armed and armoured but rather slow, these machines are a considerable asset to the main battle line wherever they are deployed.

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“Bolognesi and Cáceres”, 4th Class Ironclad Hunters

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Perceiving the threat of the vast fleets of foreign ironmongery that would soon steam their way across the dusty sands of the desert, a project was put into place to overcome the inevitable numerical superiority of enemy ironclads. The result was these ‘Ironclad Hunters’. Small, concealable and mounting a heavy 12” gun, they would prove to be a considerable threat on the battlefield.

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“Número I – IV”, 5th Rate War Tractors

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During the War of the Pacific a considerable number of heavy industrial tractors were converted into improvised fighting machines. With added armour plating and the addition of cannon turrets, they proved themselves to be viable combat units throughout the conflict leading to their permanent adoption in the Land Navy.

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Nemo’s Nautilus

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“The involvement of what the press reported as ‘magnificent craft’, first in the War of the Pacific, then in the subsequent Spanish Reclamation and then again in the Invasion of 1899, has long been a mystery to all observers, including Peruvian Command themselves. These enigmatic machines appeared and involved themselves unaccountably, showing themselves to be of superior science and design to anything else known to the world, constantly harassing shipping and even being present at major engagements. The only accountable theory for their presence is that these men of magnificent scientific ability, whomever they should be: dissidents or anarchists, were working outside of the scientific circles of the world, and had logically then chosen to take up residence previously undisturbed areas of South America or the remote islands of the Pacific.”

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Having made a model of The Albatross from ‘Robur the Conquer’ it felt only right to make a model of Nemo’s Nautilus. I’ve gone with something closer to the description from the book rather than the Disney interpretation of the machine. It’s a 1:1200 British Great War submarine with some very light converting. I cut the hull into a slightly different shape and added a small fin made of some card. It took less than an hour in the end. Its painted green because grey is just so...grey. Hope you all like it, C&C always welcome.

Peru

peru flag

"Surprising the world with their victory over Chile in the 1879 War of the Pacific, the Republic of Peru enjoyed a period of great economic and military growth throughout the 1880s. The main cause of this rapid growth were vast quantities of the raw materials required to produce Cavorite, a compound transparent to gravity, found in deep below the Atacama Desert. These raw materials gained the interest of almost all of the great European powers, bringing with them a great amount of heavy industry and capital, endowing Peru with a great boom in financial wealth. However, this came at a heavy price. The warlike gaze of many nations looked to this nation, both rich in the greatest resource that any nation’s military could wish for but outside the spheres of influence of the great European powers. The fruit of the Atacama Desert would be both the blessing and the curse of the nation, bringing with it two wars by the end of the 19th century, the Imperial Reclamation of Spain, and the Invasion of the USA."