Sometimes I'm bad, sometimes I'm worse

Case in point, and meaning no offense to the poor soul who "inspired" me through no fault of his own, but I've taken Matakishi's Tea House (a perfectly respectable fellow as far as I know) and abused it into Matasquishy's Pee House.  Why?  There is no rhyme nor reason, sometimes these things just strike.  Recorded for later use.  A named outhouse?  Why the heck not?  That is all.

Bones Apart

Ordered some skeletons for decorating my games, humans from one source, dead horses (and wolves and wild boar) from another.  These are not for any sort of fantasy but for warning of poisoned wells or marking the site of a battle where not all of the dead got buried or an indian attack on a wagon train.  These bones are game table clutter.  Also ordered a few figures that I'm not sure how I will feel about them but will see when they arrive.  If I don't like them I can use them for parts of some sort.

Now all I need is time to paint some stuff up!

Horse colors

Just grabbed this information off the web:

From Boots & Saddles at the Little Bighorn by James S. Hutchins: 

"A" Company--coal black horses
"E" Company--gray horses
"B," "D," "F," "I," and "L" Companies--bays
"H" Company--blood bays
"G" and "K" Companies--sorrels
"C" Company--light sorrels
"M" Company got the left overs, so they were a mix
Trumpeters rode grays; officers usually rode the same color horses as their company
Custer rode a horse called "Vic," a sorrel with four white feet and a blaze on the face.
Captain Miles Keogh rode "Commanche," described as a light bay or buckskin. Keogh commanded Company "I" a bay company.

That is for the 7th cavalry, of course, so not directly related to Rosebud but I can paint my full regiment to that standard for when I do want to do Little Bighorn.  Will continue to 'research' for other cavalry of the period.  And just horses in general during the period.

Funny, how now we consider a quick search of the web to be research - which is potentially wildly inaccurate.  Though, over time with corrections, a lot of what is on the web will at least be reasonable information - or so it can be hoped.  Just have to remember the goal is not precise adherence to history but using history to guide towards a fun game.

More sorting today

So, being off work today courtesy of the protests, partly doing some work from home, I did a bit more sorting and discovered there are three more groups of civilian figures not assigned.  Two are armed men that will be for special assignments, whatever that may be - something scenario specific.  And another group of trainmen that will be used for trains 'out on the road' which means mostly likely used for hold ups.

I then realized I have enough native American figures to create two and a half units of allies for the army at Rosebud.  I will use the three units already set up as scouts for the Shoshone - famous for their 'military' type formations and these 'new' groups as the Crow.  That means there will be 66 figures for the allies which works out pretty well at 1:4 figure ratio.

The one thing I ought to do, that I haven't the heart to do, is to settle in to just one period and make it my full miniature focus.  At least I am trying to keep focus on three: AWI, Colonial (but which part of that?), and this Old West massive collection.  If I paint 15 figures a day, every single day, for a year solid, I could finish this collection.  I am lucky if I paint once a month lately but getting closer to being more free to do as I choose.

Priming a batch of civilians for Anachronism

The figures are only primed so far but I want to show a portion of my civilians for my main Old West town, Anachronism.  

It is the town beside a navigable river where steam boats ply - but their future is in doubt because the railroad has arrived and spanned the river and is pushing well west of the city.  There is also a freight and stage road that pushes into the southwest from the city.  It is a veritable spring board for settlers seeking new opportunities.  

Unfortunately, it's prosperity also attracts a less desirable group of those outside of the law.  A spanking new courthouse (started, not finished) will help - as will the gallows erected outside (purchased, not yet started - and might get modified to be at least a three noose affair rather than a single noose affair) - to improve the situation for the large, law abiding citizenry.  

These twelve groupings - some other primed additions not meant for Anachronism included - were one third of the total civilians for the town but I've recently done some sorting and organizing to better incorporate purchases over the last few years that have expanded all three town populations (including those 'assigned' to a town but not meant to be 'in' the town but in the town's out-lying region).

It should be obvious that the photos were taken right after priming the figures since the paint is still wet.

Up front in this first photo is the blacksmith group, like all groups there are twelve people, men, women, and children as appropriate or available.  For the civilian folks carrying babes in arms, those are not officially counted though they certainly count to their little metal mommies.

In the center is the hangman's group - the hangman and the preacher behind the condemned man having his last say are the left stand in back.

In the back is one of the two groups of armed civilian men for the town.

Up front here is the wheelwright and cooper group.  You may have noted that all groups have two associated casualty figures - which is probably more than I need but was an early idea I stuck with throughout building the collection.  Alas, there are very, very few female casualty figures out there in 15 mm - only two I know of are in Bluemoon's London range, meant to be victims of Jack the Ripper.  I have them but for a different collection, not London.  Thus I will have to fake it by painting female and children group casualties a bit different - I expect pastels will be well used for the women to make easier to see they are women, whether living or dead.

In the middle is the undertakers group, he is in the back left with his cane.

And in the background is the other group of armed men plus one dead shot armed woman.

Up front below is the photographers group with three cameras taking photos of a young couple about to get married now that her beau is back from West Point, a couple of old soldiers, and an older farm couple in town for their anniversary and splurging on this new fangled technology.

In the middle is a group of the town's children.

And in the back is a set of shop keepers.

Up front in this photo is the sawbones about to, well, saw a bone.  Another patient is arriving and  a few armed friends stand guard after a recent untoward incident and an assistant - perhaps the town's veterinarian - is arriving to assist.

The middle is graced with a group of the town's peaceful women - anything resembling a weapon is just some tool the women use, or will be painted as such.

And in the back is a group of women out on the town shopping.

That makes twelve of the original thirty-six groups for Anachronism.  Still to be primed are the upper crust of the town including the visiting governor with his entourage and their ladies, the figures related to the strong railroad presence in town, and the diverse folks of varying ethnicities such as Chinese immigrants including the residents of the local chapter of the Shaolin - Kwai Chang Cane of course), free men and women of African heritage starting new lives in the west, and those bigamist Mormons (an homage to Paint Your Wagon of course).  The new groups are mostly some of the accumulated armed men and some more train men, six more groups in total for 42 groups of 12 or 508 residents.  The other two towns, Lodgepole Creek and Alkali Wells including those outliers, are each now up to 21 groups each with another combined 508 residents.  Which means at least 1,016 civilians for my Old West collection.  Of those 84 groups, I have 15 that are meant to be armed groups but there might be the odd weapon mixed in some of the other groups - but not enough to raise the group above being a more or less defenseless group against the better armed men, whether on the right side of the law or the wrong side of the law or somewhere in the middle.

Here is a Special Character, El Pollo Grande, (The Big Chicken) in both mounted and foot version plus a dead man.  The dismounted actually has four chickens on it!  A bit silly but fun - which is the ultimate point.

These are three stands of Mexican horse holders recently acquired from Peter Pig, a newish addition to their Old West range without a specified use for the moment.

And these are the armed El Mexicanos, assigned to the Alkali Wells region but probably out on El Pollo Grande's hacienda.

These are two groups of Mexican peasants.  Of course, by Mexicans we mean people of Spanish heritage living in the now American Old West since my Old West is decades away from the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  Though there is a very newly added, from QRF-Freikorps, unit of Mexican Federales in a mounted, foot, dead, setup - just need to add four standing horses.  I've also added a unit of Apaches in the same status (though need more dead and standing horses) which I also need for the 'new' Mountain Man group.  I hope to scrounge around the collection later today to see what I need to fill in these minor holes.

Just a shot of the whole lot from one end.

And again from the other end.

Not included here because not primed yet are the several other Special Characters I've developed for this collection: The Dude (rather similar to The Duke) in both a mounted and foot version, The Gals (Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley, and Belle Starr) only on foot, Sister Veronica sometimes also known as Veronica Voluptuous (shades of Two Mules for Sister Sarah) replete with two mules in each of her incarnations (I know, Clint was the other mule in the movie but this isn't that movie), Mountain Men also both mounted and on foot, and Walks Far Woman (from an old made for TV movie starring Raquel Welch) only on foot.  And, of course, El Pollo Grande who is pictured above.  

For those of you thinking that is excessive, 1,016 and more civilians for an Old West game, you are right but perhaps you don't see the whole vision.  Remember, this is a collection with now over 100 wagons and carts included counting some 'destroyed' ones!  And three separate towns!  The refrain, yet again, "The Whole Wilder West, All At Once".