Skinners and Cowboys - Westchester in the AWI

[Gangleri]

Hello, all.

It's been a long time since I posted anything.  I have been chipping away at this project a bit, but the summer is a hard time for me to paint.   As the weather cools, however, I've been able to finish my latest unit, the eponymous Skinners.



"Skinners" was the name given to the irregular cavalry, nominally attached the Patriot cause, who patrolled, foraged, and raided throughout Westchester.  They were, like the Cowboys on the other side, responsible in part for "procuring" fodder, livestock, forage, horseflesh, and the like for the Continental forces in the northern part of the county by liberating it from Crown forces and tories.  While they did fulfill this role, they seem to have had few scruples on how and from whom material was obtained and how much found its way into their own pockets and bellies on the return trip.  Not to mention the outright robbery and brigandage, score-settling, etc.  Skinner soon became a byword for banditry, usually visited equally upon Patriot and Tory civilians alike.



The figures are all Perry American militia, both the "mounted militia" and the militia Colonels, with a few alterations for fun.  Included is a a skinner wearing some British or Loyalist regimentals, from the common practice of replacing worn-out clothing with that taken from captives, depots, or even corpses. 



I don't like painting horses and probably dawdled more than I needed to in completing this group.  But it was high time this project get its Skinners.  More to follow soon, I hope.

[glenning]

Looking great!

I actually like painting horses but those sets were a pain in the a¤¤ to paint - and they took me a long time to finish as well. The sculpts are great but the molded rider/horse combo is  a minus IMO.