Rorke's Drift remains one of the best known of the battles of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, partly because it was not as one-sided as most colonial battles, and partly because of the excellent film Zulu (1964). Although in the grand scheme of things it was of little importance - simply a group of just over 150 British and colonial troops defending themselves successfully against attacks from Zulu warriors for a day - the romance and triumph in adversity appealed to the public of the day. Also of particular relevance is that it provided some good news on the same day that a large British force of 1,800 was virtually wiped out by 'natives', allowing British newspapers to dwell on a small success story rather than an enormous and embarrassing story of failure and incompetence.
By the time this set was developed Italeri had already produced one pre-20th century set with a large laser-cut building accessory (Waterloo 2) which had been well received. They were on to a good thing, and they really ran with the idea with Rorke's Drift. This time we got two large and very detailed buildings plus plenty of soldiers and some good accessories. The figures came from the purchased Esci back-catalogue, and it will come as no surprise to learn that they were:
Note that the Italeri set of British infantry only contains 40 figures - we assume the rest were lost due to damage to the mould, although no poses have been lost. This means the set contains 40 British redcoats to face 96 Zulus, which is not nearly as unequal in numbers as the real action but at least provides enough warriors to give a fair impression of overwhelming hordes. The British set is good with some minor issues, but the Zulus suffer from being all-chiefs-and-no-indians, with splendid ceremonial costumes that would not have been worn in battle, nor even owned by most warriors. However they are well-sculpted and look great despite the problems.
The accessories we have come to expect in such sets are in this case two half sprues (the small items) from the Italeri Walls and Ruins plus the Italeri Stone Walls (6127). This provides something of the defences fabricated by the garrison, with the sandbags standing in for mealie bags and the stone walls giving something of the impression of the walls enclosing the Rorkes Drift mission station. Purists may find plenty here to quibble with, but we think the effort was there, and dedicated accessories for this one action is a big ask.
Last but by no means least are the stars of the show in our eyes; the two large laser-cut MDF buildings. One is a model of the hospital and the other of the commissariat store, the two principal buildings at the mission.
The above images are of the hospital, actually a thatched bungalow used for the sick and wounded by the British army during the invasion, and formerly the house of the owner, Witt. This had an open veranda at the front, and strangely several rooms with no internal access, merely doors to the outside. From the documents this looks to be a very accurate model, so much effort has gone into the research here. From the view of the model with the roof removed it is clear to see how many of the rooms were not linked to each other, forcing the garrison to smash holes in the walls when escape was required.
Above we have the store house, which had been used as a church by Witt. Again a thatched bungalow with an open veranda at the front, this slightly bigger structure is most notable for the external staircase leading to a loft space under the roof. It also had no doors or windows at the back, which made it much easier to defend. Again the model here looks like a really good representation of it, and as a kit you can remove the floor and the roof as desired.
Above is one of the several photos of a made-up diorama, with everything assembled and beautifully painted and displayed. As usual this takes some liberties, since there are elements here that do not come with the product (the modeller has made a good job of painting thatch on what is actually smooth wood), but for whetting the appetite of the prospective purchaser the photos work well. Certainly the diorama looks rather empty, and indeed fewer than half the available figures were used in its construction, while the layout of the mission and its defences is all wrong. Still its attractions are undeniable, and the well-designed box merely adds to the enjoyment to be had from this product.
This product as some nice if slightly inaccurate figures, some pretty useful accessories and some terrific buildings. The buildings make a great backdrop for your figures, as well as offering firing positions and what is effectively a small fort to be defended and attacked. For a commercial product this is a terrific representation of the battle, and even for those looking to construct something more realistic yet, this would be a great start.