Some 15mm Old West miniatures

Hey all! 

Well, I started up a new project... a 15mm Old West collection!

I won't write too much right now (I actually wrote a short article that I hope may find its way into Wargames Illustrated...?) but I did want to take some photos and share them!

These first few shots are from a game my son and I played... it was a very near thing!  This was my gang moving up into town, where my son had holed up in the saloon!

And here are some shots of the individual cowboys (dismounted and mounted), a bad NPC gang, and my civilians!

 

**LOADS** of GREAT eye-candy... terrain, Old West, and loads'o'antiques!

Howdy all!

Well, went over to my buddy's place today... took a bunch of table shots, played a bunch of 15mm Cowboys on the big table, and even took some photos of the room and some random stuff in it!

First up... the table shots!

Okay, first up, a shot of the table from the town side.  Please excuse the white board balanced on the edge... it is for record-keeping for a shoot-out:)

You can also see the unpainted fort, placed near the center.  It was taken out shortly after this photo... just wanted to see the layout of the fort.

Here is a shot of the mountains at the end.  You can see some swampland at the bottom left corner... if you look close, you'll even see a buck sheltering in the swamps.

Here is a shot of the mountains from the far side.  You can see the road leading out to the plains, and the camp on the near slope.  On the far mountain you can just make out the miner camp.

Here is a close-up of the nearest camp.  We finished playing and my buddy put out my gang in the camp.

Here is a more well-lit shot of the mountain pass.

Here is the far mountain, with the miner camp.  You can actually see the miners in this shot... two up top (one actually right against the tree) and two guys down below.

On a tall mountain peak, a wolf perches up on a log and howls.

Now, let's get to town!  Here is a shot from outside of town.  You can see the taller grasslands on the right.

Here is a shot of the homestead just outside of town... my buddy is using it as his home base for his gang leader.

Another shot of town, from the far side.

The train pulls up, and a man who has to leave kisses his girl goodbye.

Another shot of the backside of town... the priest is down on the lower left, visiting a grave.

A shot up main street.

A kid runs along the sidewalk in the center of town.

Folks walking around town.

The Chinese laundry.

A moment from the start of one of the gunfights we had tonight... the saloon owner doesn't see the cowboy drawing his weapon...

Now, as for games themselves... we played a bunch of hunts!  Here is "Red" from my gang hunting a wolf.  I think this one got away.

Johnny Ringo, from my buddy's gang, kills himself a cougar... I think he made some dough on that pelt!

The Wells Fargo coach comes out from the valley...

... but just as it hits the plains...

... some cowboys gallop out!

We tried to hijack maybe four stagecoaches today, but they all got away... you don't want to risk your boys too recklessly!

At the end of the night, my gang rests up!

Also, here are a few "craft" shots... first up, here is the bottom of these figures.  Remember, they are 15mm... the infantry is mounted on a button, and the mounted figures on a penny!

Here is a shot from the side.

Here are all the cowboys in their case.

My gang... Hitchcock on the left, boss leader William in the center, and "Red" on the right.

Here are a few shots of the room!  One kepi (artillery I believe) with some swords (decorative) and a few other bits.

Other side of the fireplace, including the hand-stitched Irish Brigade flag.

The mantel over the fireplace... the 15mm ACW troops normally aren't there.  Neither is the kepi; it normally lives on the drum, but was moved for a moment.

The .45s my buddy recently got.  You can see glimpses of the 28mm AWI collection to his left and right.

The K-98 he also got recently... it is an original (repro sling) in AMAZING condition.  Notice near the center left of the barrel the swastika/eagle emblem... just ahead of the K-98 forward of the breech.

Just one of the ridiculous number of shelves all around the edges of the room... note the customized Tigers on the front left of this shot, and the early war CSA unit at the back corner in havelocks.  There are about eight shelves like these of 28mm ACW in the room, along with 10 or so additional big plastic crates of the rest of the 28mm ACW collection under the table, about 20something shelves of 28mm AWI, a huge 28mm WWII shelf, a huge 15mm WWII shelf, and some other assorted figures.

Anyway... hope all have enjoyed!

15mm Old West civilians finished

And that's it!

All of my contributions to the 15mm Old West collection are done, now that I've finished up the last five civilians I had.  These five guys turned out pretty good... a woman in a plain dress, a pair of fellows who are perfect for mine work or whatever, and two gents who might serve as corrupt politicians or some other interesting character.

As a note; these guys ARE dipped.  Generally I grab their bases with an old pair of pliers, and then I dip them in.  I shake them off pretty good in a large paper bag (to contain the splatter.)  I then take a piece of paper towel and fold it over a few times and dab away at a few key spots... namely between the legs, between arms and bodies, at the bottom of robes, and on the faces... otherwise, the dip really pools up there.  Do make sure to fold the paper towel over and use the folded part; do NOT let the ripped edge near the figures, as there will be little bits of fiber that will stick to the figure.  So dab away, and done!

So that's it!  Tomorrow I am hanging out with my buddy and we are going to finally play a bit on the cowboy table... I'll take some photos and report back!

15mm Cowboy "White Hats" all done

 Hey all!

Well, the "White Hats," which will be used as the generic NPC "good guy" gang or posse in my buddy's persistent 15mm Old West game, are all done!  After I got them basically done we talked a bit, and felt that they were not "hanging together" enough as a gang of good guys... I made a few changes, including adding a few gray pants and, most important, painting ALL of the hats white.  I think this did a LOT in making them more consistently "good guy" looking.  Yeah, it is a little Spaghetti Western, but that is what we are shooting for with this gang of good guys!

Anyway, hope everyone enjoys!

15mm Cowboy "Camp" base

Hey all!

Well, finished up the "Camp" base, which will be used in our game to indicate where the player gang has left off for the evening when we are done playing.  Here is a shot with a cowboy in the spot for the figure.  Overall I think it turned out pretty cool!

Anyway, I'll have the "White Hats" tomorrow, and then some civilians, and then I think I am done with 15mm Cowboys for now... I'll have to figure out what project to tackle next!

Another Posse of 15mm Cowboys finished, and more...!

Hey all!

Well, just got back from my buddy's place earlier this evening, and wanted to tackle two projects!

First, when I was over there he gave me a pot of the paint he uses for bases, and a sliced-off sheet of Silflors tufts... that way, I could finish the gang up myself!


So, I did!  Above you can see the second posse of five cowboys that I have put together for my buddy's 15mm Cowboy table (minus their final dull coat.)  Again, I used a real mix of earth tones and natural tones to get them looking good.  I especially love the far-most left hand guy... really feels "Bill the Butcher"ish to me:)  I also like the older guy on the far right.  I think my buddy's basing method looks GREAT for these miniatures.

Now, these guys paint up quick, so I also went ahead with another project.  While my friend wants to make sure that each Cowboy has a mounted and foot version, he ALSO wanted to provide some NPC figures for the game that did not necessarily need to do this... they are meant to be "generics" to fight against the player gangs.  So, he made up a gang of generic "White Hats" and "Black Hats," and gave me the good guys to paint up!  So, here is the work so far... there is a bit more to do, but I think when finished, dipped, and based they will look REALLY sharp, and uniform.  The "Black Hats" should look mean when my buddy does them up... they include even a woman!

Oh, and that buddy I mentioned?  Well, he has cleared off the 25mm ACW display seen on this table in the photo (keep in mind, that is not even the main 25mm ACW "collection"... he literally painted every one of the infantry units SPECIFICALLY to be put on the table, so he wouldn't really have to clear any infantry out of his cabinets, where they are in line like they are on parade!) and has the basic cowboy layout down.  It looks RIDICULOUS... maybe the coolest wargames table I've seen, with more "height" than anything seen before... wait until you SEE the mountain passes and camps!  When he has it ready, I'll snap some photos:)