Ottoman tüfekçi - finished unit

For several years my Ottoman Army project was on hold and no additional units were painted. However in the last few months I decided to improve my Ottomans. At first two units of tüfekçi were finished.

Tüfekçi means handgunner in Turkish. At the beginning of the 16th century the Janissaries were the first who adopted handguns, but that time most soldiers of the Ottoman infantry still used bows as firearms. Later on that century more and more Turkish units were equipped with handguns and by the time of the Long Turkish War (1591-1606) it became a common missile weapon. Many Ottoman handgunners were irregulars from the Balkans. After campaign period these unenployed and looting irregulars often posed a threat to public safety on Ottoman territories, so sometimes even janissaries were sent to repel them.

The figures are Old Glory Miniatures's Trannsylvanian Hangunner minis. However I changed their heads to the heads of Gripping Beast's plastic Arab heads to make them look like Ottoman Turks.

Next time I am planning to paint janissaries with handguns.