Askari Miniatures have announced several new 28mm Colonial miniatures

From their announcement:

We’ve been very busy this last month or so. The latest release in the Ethiopian Army is ETH-3, Ethiopian Militia in traditional dress with rifles. In 1935, conscription in Ethiopia found many units with rifles but without modern uniforms. These militia wear traditional Ethiopian white cotton dress and carry rifles. Some time in August we’ll have Ethiopian militia with traditional weapons as well.

And more Italians

We’ve added Regular Italian infantry the Italian range. There is also a new command pack; there’s also an infantry pack and a regular infantry special

There is also a new regular infantryman running. He has a separate arm with a rifle at 90 degrees to his body–the only way such a pose can be cast. I’ll soon release a version with him carrying a Breda LMG.

Portions of both the Ethiopian and Italian ranges have been re-packaged to put the command figures in separate packs. A running poll on the Resources Page shows people prefer it that way by a 7 to 1 margin. (The rest prefer a choice, and you get that choice with the unit packs.) So the Ethiopian Officers form a new pack as do the Somali and Eritrean Command figures.

With 10 Italian and 4 Ethiopian packs, you have a lot to choose from for conflicts in the Horn of Africa from the 1930s through World War II. The Italians are also perfect for Libya and the Western Desert. And we are not stopping there. We have more ideas for future releases and would like to hear your ideas as well.

And there’s a new line of Turks

Last time I told you about new Russians for Turkestan. That uniform was also worn in the Balkans, so it just made sense to bring out some Turks to oppose them. The Turks wore a zouave-style uniform in 1877 and the first release is an infantry pack. In development are artillery and command packs. You can use our Tirailleur Senegalais for Egyptian infantry and our French zouaves and Turcos to add variety to your Turkish Army.

More trouble for Central Asia

Did I tell you about the command extra jezzail-men for the Pathans? Could be more trouble for the Russians or on the Northwest Frontier. But don’t worry: the Cossacks are one step closer to coming; they should be available early in the fall. In the meantime, Illinois Dan (right) will be looking for relics on the Silk Road.

As always, I preview new products first on the Resources page. But don’t wait for me to tell you: you can make an RSS connection and have the news delivered directly to you.