TW32C03 - Trooper, Australian Light Horse, Beersheba 1917 instruction booklet

1914-1918 in miniature
Instruction Manual
TW32C03
Trooper, Australian
Light Horse
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1914-1918 in miniature
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1914-1918 in miniature
A brief introduction to the
Trooper, Australian Light Horse
The Australian Light Horse are a Mounted Infantry regiment formed
in the 19th Century. Troops from the regiment first saw action in the
Boer War where the vast terrain suited the role of mounted
infantrymen.
By the outbreak of World War One there were 23 Light Horse
regiments within Australia’s part-time military with 9,000 personnel.
Organised along cavalry lines consisted of 25 officers and 400 men
divided into three squadrons (A, B and C) plus two maxim guns.
During the Gallipoli campaign the ALH served as infantry, famously
at the Battle of the Nek.
Following the allied withdrawal from the Gallipoli peninsular, the 1st,
2nd and 3rd Brigades were reunited with their horses in Egypt and
placed with the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade to form the
Anzac Mounted Division. In 1917 the Brigade was part of a larger
formation under the leadership of Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel
which included British Yeomanry Divisions and the Imperial Camel
Corps under the title Desert Mounted Corps.
On 31st October 1917 as part of the Third Battle of Gaza the British
forces took the town of Beersheba, a strategic consideration due to
its water supply so important to the Desert Mounted Corps, after a
day of fighting the 4th Light Horse Brigade charged the final Turkish
defenders, as Mounted Infantry they were not issued swords, but had
prepared their bayonets. 31 men were killed, 36 wounded and over
70 horses killed, but the town was taken. The battle led to the retreat
of the Ottoman army and on the 7th November Gaza was taken.
This figure depicts a Trooper of the ALH in full charge, with his
bayonet at the ready.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Set Up
Before you begin
You will need a few tools, I recommend a scalpel with new
blade, small tweezers, glue (I used super glue) and a glue
applicator. The parts are very small so I wore optivisors for
fixing the parts and I cut the photo etch on a glass board (as
traditional cutting mats tend to bend with the part meaning
that the etch can bend with the cut).
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 1 - Prepare the horse
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Once I have fixed the two parts of the horse together I have
drilled into both rear legs using a small pin vice (ensuring that
I did not drill too far and come through the leg). Once this is
complete I have inserted two small pieces of wire. These will
be inserted into the scenic base to give the horse and rider
more stability.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2 - Fitting the bridle & reins
In 1914 the British army were using a mix of equipment. The
saddle was in the main the 1912 universal pattern saddle. The
bridle and bit were part of the 1902 pattern equipment.
This additional part is shown in the small photo-etch fret
provided with your kit.
I trimmed the two parts
from the sprue with a scalpel
with a new blade. The two
parts were cleaned-up and
placed ready.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.1 - Fitting the bridle & reins
I did trim the part to allow a better fit, see the images of
the actual horse , you can see how the individual parts fit
together - see page 8, fig 1 & 2.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.1 - Fitting the bridle & reins
Fig 1
Fig 2
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 2.2 - Fitting the bridle & reins
There are several ways to make the reins, you can use paper
cut to size. I prefer to use Tamiya tape as it forms in to shape
quite easily. Cut on a glass chopping board with a sharp knife
and place in to shape. The string (included in this kit) creates
the tether.
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1914-1918 in miniature
Step 3 - Fix the equipment
The following images show how the equipment is fixed to
the horse and rider.
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